When the repetitive banging of Dante's fist against the door became so much louder and difficult for the two friends to ignore, Lyra gasped and blurted, "Now that's got to stop.”Then she hurriedly grabbed the handle from within as she made to open the door with the intent of finally confronting Dante, but Aria's quick, hushed voice from behind made her stop."Don't." She whispered."I'll go instead." She added in the same tone, getting up to grab the handle in Lyra's place while gently pushing her aside.They stared at each other blankly for a while, then Aria gestured with her free hand and voiced in a concerned, knowing tone."He shouldn't be leaving you restless. Go change."Lyra made a sharp, grim face in silent agreement before letting out a little tired sound, pushing her hair up roughly with both hands as she marched unsteadily towards the bedroom with her heels, making knock-knock sounds on the smooth floor.Aria waited for her to leave the sitting room completely before goin
Felix sat awkwardly fiddling with a gray pen on the roundtable as he presided over an urgent board meeting being held in their conference room at the Thompson's Fashion brand headquartersThe atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable, and the faces of the senior board members in attendance were a testimony to that; nobody was smiling, nor was Felix himself. He looked more like someone who had just been dropped amid a pack of wild, hungry dogs.His anxiety was not because this was his first time presiding over such a meeting; rather, it was triggered by the topic that was being discussed. This was also the same reason for the tension in the room; Thompson's company was in a dire strait.Things were falling apart; gross sales were at their lowest since the inception of the company; many of the franchises they had as partners were backing out in large numbers; and the rate of losses was beginning to threaten their ability to pay their staff. "Mr. Felix, this is getting quite serious; our a
Mirabel sat with her legs crossed on the sofa. She was in Grandmother Alessandra's living room, sipping a cup of coffee and gazing straight at the 98-inch flat-screen television hanging opposite her. Her eyelids were barely moving.The focus of her attention for the last few minutes has been the fashion review broadcast being shown on the screen.It had captivated her interest some minutes ago when she heard the reporters mention the name "Johansson White." And how the superstars's recent public appearances have been the reason for the major buzz rocking the social media space for the past few days now.Mirabel, who was not just a big fan of Johansson's movies but had also tried reaching out to her for collaboration in the past, was surprised to see that the actress's public appearance was not just for a regular personal outing; rather, she had gone to another launching event.An event sponsored by another fashion brand like herself; she was partnering with a competitor."What?" She
It was a Sunday morning, and Dante woke up from sleep quite early, which was weird because he had slept late the previous night. He sat up on the bed with his legs half-folded and his eyelids blinking repeatedly as they tried to adjust to the bright light of the central halogen bulb hanging over the room. He rubbed one of his palms over his face and lifted his head slightly upwards to check the time; it was exactly 6:30 a.m. He shook his head and pulled the duvet he had wrapped himself into one side, then he started to shift measuredly from the center of the bed until he got to the edge of the bed. "Gosh." He whispered as he recollected the last set of thoughts he ruminated on the previous night before his mind finally yielded to the call of sleep; every single one of them was about Lyra. His mind has been restless since yesterday evening after the unexpected discovery he made at his office. The stab of shock that had left his face broken into many puzzled pieces after Marcus
Lyra fiddled with the rope in her hand as the air between them became even more tense after her question. Then she turned around and made to leave, taking some steps closer to the door again, but Dante was relentless; he followed her."You're the one I struck a deal with, not Felix." His voice came again from behind."Why not tell me the whole truth about Felix's health?" He continued; his tone, this time, was monotonous and slightly accusatory."You should have told me the whole truth back then. Instead of lying just to get money." He pushed even further in a bid to deliberately trigger her to talk back.Lyra turned around again slowly, and the look on her face fluctuated from tiredness to point-blank boredom, or better yet, both."Yes, I lied." She began softly without switching expressions."But I still stayed at your house, pretending to be your wife, for two years." Then she shook her head before she added,"Stop lifting up dust from the past and just move on."Dante did not le
Two weeks later, the organizers held the annual showcase event in the city's heart. And as though that was not conspicuous enough for the organizers, they also decided to select the tallest building in the entire city for the event: the Silver Crest Tower.Also, one of the largest and most luxurious halls situated right in the face of the tower was chosen, and from there, the view of the skyline, ocean, and parked cars underneath the edifice was visible to the attendees through the wide transparent glass windows.Apart from the important personalities that filled and glided around the hall, smiling and exchanging pleasantries, the top-tier members of the largest fashion industries in the city, alongside the designers, stylists, and models who were all eager to display and outshine each other with their creativity and artistic projects,There was also the sheer number of famous musicians present in the hall, prominent of which was the crooner of one of the most popular rock songs boomi
Mirabel looked over her shoulder struggling to pair up the name she just heard with the image of the person she was looking at."Lyra?" She mouthed with her facial muscles muddled up."No, it can't be Lyra." She said, shaking her head doubtfully and casting a glance at Dante who was still staring in the same direction."I mean how come? Like how did she do it?" She queried again with raised shoulders when it was becoming really obvious that she was indeed the one.Dante who was still staring in that direction, nodded silently to himself but had not said anything else. However, unlike Mirabel, who kept all her attention on Lyra herself, Dante's point of focus was more on the person Lyra was standing with; Matthew Stone. And the more he stared, the more his eyes reddened. When Lyra finally disengaged from Matthew, turning around to answer the beckon of the anchor and wending her way quickly toward the direction of the raised podium, the audience started to clap.Matthew had a lovin
As the event started to draw to a close, Lyra moved towards the portion of the hall where her models stood in small groups inside the hall.She displayed a satisfied grin on her face, looking particularly pleased by their performance. She opened up her arms to give each of them a hug."Great job, guys." She praised, gesturing cheerfully."This is exactly how I wanted my product to be launched. We did it. We really did." She repeated, nodding happily.While the felicitation was still going on, Lyra's secretary, Bancroft, immediately joined the gathering from behind, looking a bit anxious. She had her boss's bag slung over her shoulder and one of her phones in her hand."Madam, your phone has been ringing nonstop." She said, stretching out the phone as soon as she was near Lyra. "It's Drey." She added in a half-whisper.Lyra collected the phone with an even brighter smile on her face.She picked up the call and started to make her way outside the building, with her secretary tagging
It was about two days after Lyra had been discharged from the hospital.But instead of returning to the old apartment building, Dante surprised her by driving straight to the towering mansion located inside a secured estate at the heart of town. It was their new home, which he had bought during her time at the hospital.That evening, she had hugged and kissed him so passionately that it filled him with a renewed sense of hope.On this morning, the atmosphere was calm and serene, a contrast to the chaos of the past few days.The room was a testament to their fresh start: moderate yet cozy, decorated with personal touches that told their story.Dante stood by the kitchen counter, carefully arranging a vase of fresh flowers.Lyra entered the room, her steps light and tentative. She was getting used to walking like a baby all over again after being bedridden for close to two weeks.She smiled at Dante, feeling an overwhelming surge of gratitude.“We’ve been through the worst, babe,” Dante
Lyra was lying in the closed space that was her hospital room. By her side were flowers and get-well-soon cards from her staff and members of Dante’s family; the largest were from James and Emily, who had come to see her yesterday, their faces tender and affectionate.Now, though, the room was quiet, except for the soft hum of medical equipment.Lyra lay in the hospital bed, her eyelids moving up and down slowly.She looked around weakly, taking in the sight of the flowers and cards. The pain was still there, but it was duller now, less sharp than before. Dante sat by her side, his eyes filled with concern and love."Hey," Lyra whispered, her voice weak but steady.Dante leaned closer, a smile spreading across his face. "You're doing great, my love. One step at a time."Lyra's eyes filled with tears."James told me... I couldn't have done this without you." She managed to say her eyes were meek and full of meaning.Dante squeezed her hand gently. "We're in this together, Lyra. Alway
The morning after the night of the interception, the grand living room of Cooper’s mansion was filled to the brim with people.The entire family was present, from Grandmother Allesandra to Lucas and Mirabel in their handcuffs, then his dad, Dante, and even James and Emily were around. They had flown in the previous night; others who were also around were the police officials led in by Eric. Everyone had all shown up for the critical meeting after the emergency message from Grandma and Dante, and they face a crude mix of shock, anger, and sorrow.Grandma had insisted yesterday that they be kept in the house until morning so that this meeting could hold.Earlier that day, Detective Eric, Dante, and a team of officers stormed the mansion after Dante reached out to his grandmother. The plan had been executed flawlessly.The gates were shut off and immediately surrounded by policemen. Lucas and Mirabel had been locked up in the room, their faces frozen in shock and apprehension as they tri
After about three hours of waiting, the lead doctor returned from the emergency ward. Dante leaped from the chair.“Yes doctor? How is she doing?”“Calm down, Mr. Dante; we are making progress. She is not fully up yet. But we are making progress. I’m confident she will survive thiss." He tapped on Dante’s shoulder.“Take some rest. This is going to take a few more hours.”Dante was a little relieved by the confident tone of the doctor; at least he wasn’t sounding as tensed as he was when they first came.He decided to use the free time to hunt her attackers.Once he was outside the hospital building, he stood at one spot, mumbling to himself as he tried to piece together the events of the past few hours. The attack on Lyra, the driverless truck—it all felt like a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. The more he thought, the clearer it became that someone was keeping tabs on them, closely monitoring their every move.“I mean, how did they know I was going to be parking at that exact spot?
Dante stepped out of the gleaming glass doors of his office building. It was past 6 p.m. already, and the late evening sun hovered above the sky, ready to start receding.The usual hum of traffic and distant chatter filled the air, but something felt off. As he approached his car in the open parking lot, he noticed the front tires looked slightly deflated, and fresh scratches marred the previously pristine rims.He stopped a few steps from the car, hanging his hands on his waist.“What the hell?” He muttered, crouching to inspect the damage. Everything had been in perfect shape when he parked this morning. A sense of unease settled in his chest. Who would tamper with his car, and why?He looked around the fenced expanse for a moment but couldn’t find anyone close by.In helpless resignation, he climbed into the car and drove off slowly.In a few minutes, he managed to totter the vehicle to a nearby repair shop, less than five miles away from his office headquarters, carefully maneuve
The good light of the evening filtered through the blinds, casting a pale glow over the sterile hospital room.Lyra stirred on the narrow blue bed, feeling groggy and disoriented. She blinked a few times, her vision blurry, trying to make sense of her surroundings.The faint smell of antiseptic hung in the air, and the gentle beeping of machines created a rhythmic noise in the background.As her vision cleared, she noticed Dante sitting by her side, his eyes heavy with concern.His presence was a reassuring anchor.She took a deep breath, her voice barely a whisper.“You came? Where is…where is…”“Shhhh!” Dante hushed, leaning forward tenderly, his hand gently holding hers. “He’s gone.” He muttered calmly."You fainted a few hours ago, Lyra. Felix called me. He told me everything that happened. We brought you here immediately. After that, I asked him to leave."Lyra's heart thumped as the memories of the restaurant flooded back in that minute. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tu
Lyra drove towards Philly April’s café with a blank expression, even though her heart was aching with curiosity.Felix had called earlier to promise his sincere apologies, and more importantly, he had claimed that he was ready to make some significant confessions, but she remained skeptical.She wondered if this was another one of his ploys, but that would not be a problem because she was ready to go any length to force the truth out of him, particularly the real truth about Aria's involvement in all of this.As greatly as she would have wished never to see or talk with Felix, her determination to uncover the truth pushed her forward.As she parked her car and approached the café, she steeled herself for the confrontation.The café was quiet, and the afternoon sun cast a golden hue over the cozy interior. Lyra spotted Felix immediately. He sat at a secluded table, his posture slumped, and his head tilted downward. His guilty, cowering look only fueled her anger.“I just hope this isn
Dante stood outside Lyra’s apartment, his heart rumbling with different thoughts, and he ached for her to appear so he could finally get the chance to defend himself.He took a deep breath and knocked on the door about four times, his knuckles rapping sharply against the wood.Inside, he heard the muffled sounds of movement, followed by Lyra’s voice, strained with pain and anger.“Just go away, Dante! I don’t want to see you!”Dante knocked again, louder this time. “Lyra, please, just hear me out!”“I’ve heard enough lies already!” Her voice reverberated through the door, each word a stab at his heart.“I said, just go away. Leave me the heck alone. Is that too much to ask?”The oppressive weight of desperation settled over him.He knocked once more, his voice rising.“Lyra, it’s about Mirabel. You need to know the truth. Just hear me out. Don't tell me you haven't been asking some questions either. Just give me the chance to offer you some answers; that is all I ask.”There was a bri
Dante sat next to his study desk, his eyes fixed on his phone. He dialed Lyra’s number again, waiting anxiously as it rang. Once, twice, and three times, each ring echos in the silent room. After five rings, the call went to voicemail. He let out a frustrated sigh, his mind racing with questions."Please pick up the phone, Lyra." He muttered quietly, pushing the phone aside as he stood up to start pacing the room. The last judgmental image he had of her, coupled with the unanswered calls so far, was only adding to his confusion and frustration.He debated going to her apartment, but the thought of facing her without answers held him back. His mind wandered back to that night. What exactly had happened? His thoughts spiraled, imagining the worst. Had he really slept with Amara? But How?The memory was hazy and fragmented. How had it come to this? He reasoned, his mind a whirlwind of doubt. The last thing he remembered was sitting in a hall with Mirabel. Amara was so much farther a