Chapter 3

3.

But the peace didn't last long.

I had assumed Gavin would have the sense to flee Silver Creek.

Instead, he went straight to Lyra to play the victim.

"Did you threaten Gavin to make him leave town?"

The moment I stepped through the front door, Lyra was waiting for me with a cold stare.

In our five years of marriage, even though her heart belonged to a ghost, she had always been affectionate on the surface.

This was the first time she had looked at me with such icy detachment.

"Caleb, I let it slide when you chased off my other bodyguards, but don't even dream of touching this one!"

I hadn't realized she was aware of what I'd been doing behind her back.

That meant she also knew that I was fully aware of her obsession with finding Liam's replacements.

And yet, she hadn't stopped.

"Is it because he looks like Liam Quinn?"

I sat on the sofa, my voice barely a whisper.

It was the first time I had ever spoken his name out loud to her.

Since our wedding day, we had a silent pact never to mention him.

Yet, our home was a shrine to his memory.

The vase on the coffee table was a gift from Liam.

A pair of leather shoes belonging to him sat in the foyer.

Even the red silk cord on her wrist had been hand-woven by him.

"You have no right to say his name!"

Lyra snapped, her eyes turning bloodshot with rage.

"Caleb, I married you, but don't think that gives you the right to interfere in my life."

"I'm telling you right now: Gavin stays. If you try anything, I'll fight you to the end, and I'll get rid of this child!"

Normally, she was the picture of a refined, sophisticated lady. She never lost her cool.

In all our years together, she had never raised her voice at me until today.

I had clearly underestimated how much space Liam still occupied in her soul.

I used to believe that time would heal her and make her love me, but I realized now how wrong I was.