Chapter 201
LYRIC
“Wh–What do you want?” I had to clear my throat to make sure it didn’t come out raspy and give away the fact that I was crying
“It was you.”
His words made me furrow my brows, until slowly, they made sense.
He still pointed it out.
“The girl at the hospital. The one that saved me.”
I hadn’t realized the extent of what I did until Caden himself was thanking me for it. Gosh, I hated myself right now.
“I didn’t save you. I was stupid and didn’t even know who you were,” I snapped. I’d been beyond stupid.
“But you did save me.” He sounded serious. “I’ve been looking for that same lady for years, Lyric.”
“Well, keep looking!”
“This whole time, you knew but didn’t say a word.”
I pinched my brows, my frustration mounting as I so desperately wanted to let it out on someone.
“We–We need to talk, Lyric.”
What the hell?
“Have you lost your mind? I’m not seeing you.”
“Please. I just need to…I need to see you.”
“Why?”
“It’s important!” He suddenly laughed. “You’re a Siphon, Lyric! Do you realize you’re worth more than gold?”
The truth suddenly hit me as strongly as it hurt.
“You see me as an asset,” I nodded like he could see me.
“No. No, Lyric. It’s beyond that. Listen, I know the people are on your neck right now. Everyone thinks you’re dangerous; and that’s the difference between me and them. I can protect you. If you’re smart, you’ll leave those people and come to me.”
“Well, I guess I’ve never been smart, then,” I chuckled, wiping a tear from my face. “If I was, I’d have never woken a monster like you, because you’re the reason all of this happened.”
If I hadn’t woken him up at the hospital, nobody would’ve known I was a Siphon. The Executioners wouldn’t have done looking for me. It was all his fault.
“I’m done talking to you. Please, don’t ever reach out to me again.”
He tried to say something but I cut him off by ending the call.
I was curled up in bed when the door opened, revealing Jaris.
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Chapter 201
It suddenly felt like I’d been alone for days and was just seeing a human for the first time.
I jumped from the bed, ran to him and fell into his arms without thinking. It felt so good seeing someone that didn’t hate me someone Iv have my back.
“Hey,” his voice was soft, his hand caressing my back. “Are you alright?”
He must find it strange that my first action was giving him a tight hug. If only he knew how much I needed it.
It took me a little longer to finally be able to let him go.
“I’m fine,” I breathed, staring into his eyes.
Except I was anything but fine. There was so much I wanted to talk to him about. The kids avoiding me, Caden calling me. But I was scared of starting an issue between him and the kids as I didn’t want him forcing an opinion on them. And Caden…. Caden was just too stressful to talk about.
“Had anything to eat yet?” He asked with a hand on my back as he led me to sit.
“Yeah. At Darkspire.” Though I was still very hungry.
He asked me more questions to make sure I was fine. Aside my own worry, I could see there were certain questions he was holding back.
“I need to know something, Lyric.” His tone turned serious. He was seated next to me in bed, our legs touching.
“And I need you to be very honest with me.” I didn’t like it when Jaris used this tone with me.
I held his gaze, waiting for the bomb to drop. “Six years ago, did you get pregnant?”
Shock washed over me, causing my mouth to hang open as if frozen in time.
By the moon, no! I pulled my hand away from his, quickly as if it burned.
How did he find out?!
“Lyric-”
“I–I don’t “I looked around nervously. “Why are you just asking?”
“‘Cause a photo was found in your room.” He took out his phone and showed me a picture. It was that of my scan.
My eyes grew a degree wider.
Nerion! I should’ve suspected it when I found him leaving my room! Since I was packing up, I had the drawers unlocked and left the image carelessly. Well, I didn’t expect someone to go in and check my drawer within that short period of time.
“Is this yours, Lyric? I need you to be honest.” The look in his eyes told me he had faith in me, and I’d be a bitch to betray it.
I lowered my eyes, letting him see the truth in my silence.
A minute passed by with full silence.
“You were pregnant?”
I nodded slowly, unable to meet his gaze.
“For me?”
I took a deep breath, glancing up at the ceiling.
Chapter 201
“Lyric, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know who you werel” My voice rose a notch. “I mean, I thought I’d been abandoned by a man who left ma after seeing how funny fun wouldn’t have been the first to do that to me, you know?”
My voice broke as I relived the trauma. All the days I was bullied and hated for my scar. How nobody wanted to be my friend or even help me. He pry wanted to touch me, and I was forced to remain a virgin even when I was mated to someone!
Jaris reached for my hand again, his touch warm and soft.
“You were never ugly to me, Princess.”
The name warmed my heart, cracking some of the painful ice that had been gathering around it.
He was the first to ever call me that; the first to give it a different meaning.
“I don’t know, but while others looked at you and saw a scarred lady, I saw a very beautiful woman. One whose entire feature was just stunning. He brought a hand to my face, running a finger down my cheek. “How could anyone have called you ugly?”
I lowered my gaze again just as another tear
He didn’t stop me from crying. He gave me some minutes before speaking up again.
“What happened to the babies? I think I’d have known if y
you
had any with you.”
My heart skipped a beat. Was I supposed to tell him the truth? That Penelope said they were alive but the damn woman couldn’t remember a thing? He might probably end up killing Penelope.
ndup metod
Jaris‘ eyes suddenly came to my neck, and an eerie
light shadowed it.
“Are they…” His brows furrowed. “Didn’t they make it?”
That was when I realized he was referring to the locket on my neck; the one with the ashes.
“Are they the ones you’ve been carrying all along?”
I found myself nodding before I could stop it.
“Fuck, Lyric!”
His hand rose to it, touching the cold metal.
The pain in his eyes was unmistakable.
“They didn’t make it,” he repeated it like it was hard to believe.
“That day, I seized this. You stayed out there in the cold for hours, waiting for me. I had no idea I’d been punishing you with something this sensitive.”
His gaze met mine again. “I’m sorry.”
I forced a smile, feeling so terribly that I was lying to him yet again. Maybe I didn’t deserve someone like him. “It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea.”
Staying on the topic was getting difficult. I dived into a new one as quickly
as I could.
“Come on. I’m tired and just need some rest.“/
I hugged him, resting my head on his chest
But he still didn’t seem relaxed.
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Chapter 201
We have a problem, Lyric,” he said after a while,
I pulled away from the hug to stare into his face. He looked serious.
“What problem again?”
His hand came to my hair, stroking some strands away. “It’s not for you to worry about. I just need you to do something for me tomorrow. Do you think you’ll be strong enough to stand before the Council?”
My hands separated from his waist as my heart kicked into overdrive. Please, no.
The Council had to do with the Elders and every single Alpha. Why was a meeting still being held for them? Was I still a problem?
Jaris held my hands, giving them a tight squeeze as he sensed my growing panic.
“I just need to fix things once and for all, Lyric. You can be rest assured that I’ll be right there with you, and I promise you, no one is going to touch a single hair on your head. You have my word for that.”
AD
