Lyra watched them vanish into the hospital. She tipped her head back, fighting tears, and forced herself to move. Hands shaking, she pushed open the car door and headed for the entrance.

By evening, rain was coming down in torrents, soaking straight through her wound. She didn't bother covering it up.

A nurse at the triage desk went pale, rushing over to help and guiding her to get checked out.

An hour later, Lyra was done with the exams—exhausted and barely hanging on. She grabbed her phone, spotting over a dozen missed calls—all from Joel. Without hesitating, she powered it off.

Since the IV drip would take hours, she asked the nurse to set up a room for the night.

In the quiet, memories swarmed her mind.

After Joel's paralysis, she used to go to social events for him. One time at a business dinner, two CEOs got into it, and one flipped the table—plates shattered everywhere, and a shard cut her wrist.

Joel showed up, livid, and immediately ordered his assistant to cut ties with both companies. Then he accompanied her to the hospital himself to get the wound cleaned up.

She'd thought he was overreacting, but he'd just smiled and said, "Lyra, you're the most important woman in my life. I don't want any scars on you—except maybe from having our kids. Smooth skin looks best with beautiful clothes and jewelry."

And now, with her face covered in blood, he'd brushed her off to take care of someone else.

He once swore she'd never have to bear a scar, but he made her risk her life to donate bone marrow for another woman. Even marriage and kids—he'd planned all that with someone else behind her back.

Before sleep claimed her, she saw a new post from ReeRee Bliss. It was a video of Joel, half-kneeling and gently washing Renee's feet to get her to sleep. Lyra played it on loop, heart aching more each time. Sleep never came.

***

The next morning, Lyra dragged herself home. As soon as she stepped inside, Colin, the butler, appeared, looking uneasy.

"Ms. Lebeau, Mr. Fenwick's waiting by the pool. He's... not in a good mood."

She headed to the pool and spotted Joel comforting Renee, who was sniffling and playing the victim with fake tears streaming down her face.

The second Joel saw Lyra, his anger snapped. Cold fury radiated off him.

"Did you deliberately leak Renee's whereabouts to her dad's enemies?"

Lyra froze, eyes shifting to Renee, who lounged on the couch with a smug, triumphant smirk. It clicked instantly—another setup. She rubbed her temples, exhausted.

"I don't even know who her dad's enemies are," she shot back. "How would I leak anything?"

Joel didn't budge. He yanked out a stack of photos and slammed them onto the table.

"Then explain these—pictures of you meeting with them. What's going on?"

Lyra glanced at the photos, her expression going ice-cold. They were from a few days ago when she'd been selling her secondhand luxury stuff at a coffee shop. No wonder the buyer didn't haggle—he'd insisted on meeting at that exact spot.

When she didn't speak, Joel took it as guilt. His face got even darker.

"Haven't I made it clear enough?" he snapped. "No matter what rumors are out there about me and Renee, we're innocent—there's nothing between us. I've always treated her like a sister. She's genuinely kind.

"And you—six years. We've been together for six years. You know how I've treated you all this time. Didn't I just propose a few days ago? Yet you still insist on hurting her like this. Can you even justify it?"

His words hit like a slap, but Lyra just stood there, holding it together while her heart cracked wide open.

Six years. That's what he kept throwing at her—like it meant something. Funny how he forgot the first year was him chasing her just to piss someone off for Renee's sake. And the next five? Her taking care of the paralyzed, miserable man.

She'd watched him fall apart—angry, broken, crying his eyes out night after night—all because he almost killed himself racing to boost Renee's ego. Real convenient how he forgot that part.

She'd been there every single day, secretly learning rehab techniques, massaging his legs, and even meeting with top psychologists just to figure out how to keep him from spiraling. However, he acted like none of it ever happened.

Honestly, it was pathetic.

Lyra almost wanted to laugh and straight-up ask—if Renee was just his "sister," then why the hell was he making test tube babies with her?

She took a slow breath. "Yeah, I finally get it now—how you've treated me and her these past six years."

Joel's jaw clenched. "What are you trying to say now?"

She didn't even bother arguing. Just pointed at the bandage wrapped around her head, giving him a bitter smile.

"She got kidnapped yesterday, and I ended up with a head injury. Five stitches. You really think I'm dumb enough to hurt myself just to get back at her?"

Even with the bandage right in his face, Joel didn't budge—still locked on protecting Renee. Typical.

Seeing his cold, tense expression, something inside Lyra just... let go. Three more days, and she'd be out of here for good.

"Fine," she said quietly. "Since you've already decided I'm guilty, just tell me how you wanna deal with it."

"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I've known Renee for sixteen years and seven months—she's never lied to anyone."

Joel paused, frowning hard as if deciding to end the matter.

"You made Renee cry. Fix it."

Right then, Renee—still fake sobbing—chucked the ring into the pool, gasping dramatically.

"Joel! The ring you gave me... it accidentally fell into the pool!"

She shot Lyra a smug little smile.

"Fine—no apology needed. Just fish it out, and I'll forgive you for everything."

The pool water was freezing—it was early winter, and Lyra's head was still messed up. She glanced at Joel. He just sat there, tapping his fingers, not even looking her way.

It felt like something sharp stabbed right through her heart, splintering into a million tiny aches.

She remembered that night—six months after Joel was diagnosed. Dominic showed up at the hospital, heard Joel might never recover, and started eyeing other successors.

That night, Joel vanished. Lyra found him wheeling himself toward the raging sea, icy water climbing up his chest.

Panicked, she ran to stop him, but he shoved her back.

"Quit acting like you care. You're just my girlfriend, not my wife. If you're so set on controlling my life, the waves are rough tonight—swim a lap around the bay, and I'll listen to you from now on."

Lyra froze, stunned. She wanted to scream that she wasn't pretending—that she wanted to be his wife. So, without thinking, she hurled herself into the sea, even though she couldn't swim.

The waves hit hard, yanking her under. Everything went black.

When she woke up, Joel was right there—face pale, jaw clenched, eyes locked on hers.

"Why didn't you tell me you can't swim? Are you out of your mind? Jumping into the ocean when you don't even know how?"

She looked up at him, voice raspy. "Even if your legs never recover, I still want to marry you. I... I love you more than you think."

After that, he never took her to the beach again. Even the pool at home stayed empty, water drained. It wasn't until she joked about how weird it looked that he finally let the servants refill it—grudgingly—every day.

Thinking about it now, Lyra let out a bitter smile.

"You want me to get the ring? Fine."

She didn't bother taking off her coat—just turned and jumped in. The icy water hit like a shock, soaking through her clothes, making her shiver so hard her teeth hurt. She sank slowly, fear clawing at her chest, but she bit her lip to keep from screaming.

Then the water turned red—dark, blooming like a cruel flower.

Colin's voice shot through the air. "Oh my God, Ms. Lebeau is bleeding from her head!"

Joel's jacket hit the ground as he dove in, grabbing Lyra and hauling her out.

"Enough! Why are you so stubborn? You could've just walked away!"

Lyra tilted her head back, eyes locked on the diamond ring still glittering at the bottom.

"You told me to make her happy. Aren't you satisfied now? Your precious Renee must be thrilled."

Joel frowned, jaw tight. "I've told you a million times—I only see her as a sister.

"Her family's status in Lindale isn't low either. What if people find out what you've done? You know how hard it is to keep public opinion under control these days.

"I just wanted you to calm her down—for your own good."

His tone was soft, like he was doing her a favor.

Lyra just laughed—bitter, hollow.

Public opinion, huh?

Like when the almighty Fenwick heir wrecked himself in a car race for Renee—didn't they cover that up just fine?

Or when Renee bullied half the school, hiding behind Joel's influence—didn't the Slutz family's reputation stay spotless thanks to him?

Even their IVF attempts got buried, him guarding that secret like his life depended on it.

But now? Now it was too hard to handle—just because it involved her?

She'd never come close to Renee's place in his heart.

Without another word, Lyra yanked off her soaked coat and headed for the living room. She barely made it a few steps before dizziness hit, and she crumpled to the floor.

Joel's face changed in a flash—he moved to pick her up—

But Renee dropped down beside her, sobbing.

"Joel... My stomach hurts. Can you carry me upstairs to rest?"

He froze, hand retracting from Lyra, then scooped Renee up without a second thought.

Lyra lay on the cold floor, her head smacking hard as she fell. Joel didn't even look back.

He glanced at Colin and ordered, "Take Lyra to the hospital."

When Lyra woke up, the first thing she saw was a pair of worried eyes.

Joel shot up and called the doctor, finally breathing out when they confirmed she was okay.

Lyra glanced at her left wrist—a bracelet with a cross. Looked just like Joel's.

The assistant nearby smiled. "You were out for so long, Mr. Fenwick gave you his bracelet. Even prayed last night that if you woke up, he'd give up drinking and smoking for good."

Lyra frowned, sliding the bracelet off and holding it out. "Don't change your habits for me."

Joel didn't take it, just slid it back onto her wrist. "Didn't you make vows like that when you prayed for me back then?"

Her heart clenched.

Back in Joel's second year of being disabled, she'd heard that making a wish at Everlight Cathedral in Lindale was supposed to be especially powerful. One night, she took him there.

They wrote their wishes on paper slips. Hers said: [I'd give up everything to make Joel healthy again.]

Joel's slip said he wanted to marry her in five years. When she saw it, her eyes burned with tears. Joel pulled her into his arms and held her for what felt like forever. Those were the rare moments when his eyes were only on her—when Renee wasn't around.

But now that Renee was back in Khelmark, she knew his focus would never be on her again.

She glanced at Joel's eager expression, like he was waiting for praise, and looked away. "I'm a bit tired."

***

When Lyra woke up, it was already afternoon.

She sat up, ready to ask the doctor about getting discharged, but froze when she caught voices from the hallway.

Evelyn sounded curious. "So, when's the wedding with Lyra?"

Joel's voice was flat. "End of the month. I told her before."

Evelyn nodded. "Make it grand. The gifts better be top-tier—nothing cheap. Lyra gave her bone marrow to your little sweetheart, remember? You owe her that much."

Then her tone shifted, like something just clicked. "Weird coincidence—your wedding's this month, and I heard the Windsors are planning one too. The bride's name's Lyra... crazy, right?"

Lyra didn't let them keep talking—she shoved the door open and cleared her throat, making them both shut up immediately.

That evening, the doctor gave the all-clear for discharge.

Back home, Lyra got a friend request—Weston Windsor.

Must be the guy she was supposed to marry. She hit accept, and almost instantly, he sent over a gift list.

The document was packed—line after line of meticulous details. Just skimming made her head spin.

Two more messages popped up.

[Here's the wedding gift list. Let me know if it's satisfactory.]

[Mrs. Lebeau said your flight is the day after tomorrow, and you'll arrive the morning after that. I'll be at the airport with her to pick you up.]

Lyra thought for a second before typing back.

[The gifts are enough. Thank you.]

He didn't respond, and she didn't bother checking again.

That night, Joel kept trying to chat her up, but Lyra barely gave him the time of day. Figuring she was still mad about earlier, he decided to fix it by planning a pre-wedding bachelor party. He had his assistant spread the word, and by evening, the place was packed.

As soon as Lyra showed up, Joel wrapped his arm around her waist and handed her a car purchase contract, his eyes fixed on hers.

"I kept thinking that last supercar didn't really suit you, so I ordered a new one."

Then he hesitated, shooting a quick glance at Renee, who looked all delicate and pitiful by the sidelines. Reluctantly, he handed her the original Lamborghini contract.

"Renee, this car was originally for Lyra, but since she's got a new one now, you can have it. Sorry if it's a bit lacking."

Renee's face lit up; she was trying to play humble.

"It's okay—today's all about Lyra."

But anyone could tell she was thrilled. The Lamborghini was a limited edition from Khelmark, while Lyra's new car was just a regular, though pricey, model.

Guests nearby couldn't help but whisper.

"Is Joel really marrying Lyra? This is supposed to be their bachelor party, but he's giving gifts to Renee?"

"Yeah, right. Just an excuse to hand that limited edition car to Renee."

"Everyone knows Lyra's obsessed with cars. Total slap in the face."

"Shh, I heard Renee's some kind of racing prodigy. Rumor has it she's Vesper—saved Joel's life on the track. That's how he fell for her in the first place..."

Lyra, sitting in the corner, frowned.

Vesper?

Wasn't that... her?