Chapter 2

2. I took a taxi to Mrs. Gable's, my stomach cramping the whole way.

Kellan was already there, scowling at me.

He was clearly annoyed that I was late.

"Sorry, Mrs. Gable. It was hard to catch a ride during rush hour."

Mrs. Gable waved it off. "It is fine. I am just happy you and Kellan could make it."

She had prepared a full dinner spread.

Everything smelled amazing, but I could not swallow a bite.

Cold sweat broke out on my forehead as I listened to her talk.

"I have watched you two grow up together. Five years already, huh?"

She reached out and pulled our hands together on the table.

I flinched when I touched Kellan's skin.

My palms were clammy from the pain.

Would he be disgusted by me?

"Lyra? Lyra, honey?"

Mrs. Gable nudged me, noticing I was zoning out.

I forced a smile. "My bad. What were you saying?"

She beamed. "I asked when you and Kellan are finally getting married."

It felt like a punch to the gut. I felt dizzy.

Kellan stepped in smoothly. "Do not worry about that, Mrs. Gable. You will be the first to know."

I just nodded along like a puppet.

Mrs. Gable spent the rest of lunch reminiscing about our early days in that tiny apartment.

"You were so broke, but you had each other. Now Kellan is a big-shot lawyer."

Lawyers are busy―that was always his excuse for ignoring my texts.

On the way back, I tried to call an Uber, but Kellan stopped me.

"I have the car."

He did not ask me to come with him. He did not tell me to get in.

That was just his style.

My stomach was screaming. I had forced myself to eat a few bites for Mrs. Gable.

The moment I sat in the passenger seat, I regretted it.

What if I vomited in his pristine car?

When we were together, I rarely rode with him. Now, sitting here, I was a nervous wreck.

"Why were you clutching your stomach during lunch?"

Kellan's voice was ice-cold.

The AC was blasting, making me shiver.

"My stomach just hurts a bit."

"Heh."

He let out a sarcastic laugh. "And yet you were the one texting me about how alcohol ruins the gut."

I pressed my lips together and stayed silent.

I did not tell him to take me to the hospital.

He drove straight to his luxury condo at Sunset Apartments.

I gripped my palms, trying to ride out the wave of agony.

For a split second, I wanted to stay.

"Stay, Lyra... maybe he still loves you."

My phone slipped under the seat. I leaned down to grab it.

A sparkling diamond ring caught my eye in the dark.

A delicate butterfly design, shimmering and expensive.

A image of a beautiful, sophisticated face flashed in my mind.

"I have work to finish. Go inside."

I looked at him, my voice trembling. "I told you we are over. This is your home, not mine."

Kellan looked surprised for a second, but his words cut deep.

"What kind of tantrum is this now?"

He sped off, leaving me standing there. I collapsed onto the pavement.

The pain was like a knife, but all I could think about was that ring.

It belonged to Malia Reed.

They were still seeing each other.