CHAPTER 7

A few hours later, they arrived at Scarlet's house. Lyra trudged along, following Scarlet closely, the weight of fatigue settling over her. Her eyes were heavy and red, evidence of her exhaustion. Yawns escaped her, showing just how tired she was.

When Lyra finally entered the house, she sank into one of the plush couches near her. She took in the opulence of Scarlet's apartment: the pink plush couches, similar to the one in her office, suggesting a Scarlet's penchant for pink; the beautiful chandeliers and magnificent lights that illuminated the space. Scarlet had an impeccable taste.

"Have some," Scarlet offered, placing a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of Lyra. Lyra stared at it for a moment, her reflection of her shattered life visible in the cup. Eventually, she reached for it, took a sip, and placed it back on the table. She wasn't in the mood for coffee.

"You need it to calm your nerves," Scarlet urged urgently, as if begging. Lyra remained still, staring blankly at the cup.

"If I hadn't intervened, you could have been hit by a car. What were you thinking?" Scarlet scolded, but Lyra remained motionless.

"If you don't want the pup, why go through all this stress? You can get rid of it right now!" Scarlet snapped in frustration, and Lyra shot her a glare while caressing her belly.

"That's not an option. You need to take care of yourself for the well-being of the baby," scarlet replied, her voice firm.

"You can stay in my house until the baby is born. I need to keep a close eye on you. If you stay here, I can get you anything you need," Scarlet smiled, standing up to head to her room. However, Lyra's next words made her pause.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Sharing love and support won't hurt, will it?" Scarlet chuckled before continuing. Lyra remained silent, sipping her coffee. A few minutes later, Scarlet returned and joined Lyra again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Scarlet asked, fixing her gaze on Lyra. At first, Lyra didn't utter a word, but after a few minutes, she began to pour her heart out. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she spoke. Scarlet consoled her and showed her to a furnished room with clothes and everything she needed. Lyra quickly took a bath and retired to bed.

The next morning, Scarlet was up early, getting ready for work, when Lyra walked out from her room.

"You're up early," Lyra remarked as she settled on the couch.

"Yes," Scarlet replied, as she prepared to leave for work. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." She waved and headed to her car, driving off to the hospital.

****

It has been eight months, and Lyra has been living with Scarlet in her apartment. Their bond had grown over these times and you might mistake them for sisters how they often chatted and spent time together. Lyra worked on moving past the memories of her past life, but her unborn child was a constant reminder. Scarlet had been her financial and emotional support throughout this time, even though they didn't know each other well. But was it genuine? Lyra had chosen to push that question aside. In the past eight months, Scarlet had shown no ulterior motives so she felt safe around her. 

Lyra parked her Camry by the side of the road and got out. It was one of Scarlet's abandoned cars that Lyra had put to good use. She went to the mall to buy some groceries, satisfying her current cravings. As she walked back to her car, her legs suddenly grew weak, and a sharp pain gripped her abdomen. She endured the pain and tried to drive home, but it only intensified. She was sure it wasn't time for childbirth yet, as Scarlet had told her the expected delivery date.

Lyra gently closed the car door, reached for her purse, and pulled out her phone. She dialed Scarlet's number, and after just one ring, Scarlet answered.

"I can't move," Lyra managed to say, gasping for breath.

"Where are you?" Scarlet asked, her voice filled with concern. "Just hang in there. I'll be there. Text me the address."

Lyra hung up; she couldn't tell Scarlet her location. Instead, she texted her. In a few minutes, Scarlet arrived in her Range Rover Sport after seeing Lyra's Camry. She hurried over to Lyra.

"What happened?" Scarlet asked as she held Lyra's hand. Lyra couldn't speak; she nodded and clutched her belly gently.

Scarlet helped her into the car and hurried to the driver's seat immediately driving swiftly to the hospital. She hit the brakes suddenly, causing both herself and Lyra to jerk forward and backward when she encountered a red traffic light. The light changed, and she sped off, pulling into her hospital minutes later.

Seeing how she sped into the hospital her staff knew it was urgent and hurried out to help.

"Take her to the ultrasound!" Scarlet instructed, rushing into her office to grab the gel and transducer.

She moved to the ultrasound room, applying gel to Lyra's abdomen to facilitate the ultrasound. She slid the transducer over the abdomen to emit and receive sound waves to examine the baby.Everything seemed ready, and Scarlet glanced at the ultrasound machine after a few minutes to check the wellbeing of the pup.

 Her eyes widened in astonishment, and she took a step back. Her palms grew sweaty, and her heart raced. "A phoenix bloodline?" she murmured under her breath. confused.

"Is my baby okay?" Lyra asked, noticing the puzzled look on Scarlet's face.

"Yes, you were just stressed," Scarlet lied, dismantling the ultrasound machine and retreating to her office, where she locked the door after her immediately.Her heart raced, and her hands trembled with fear as she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Helen. Listen carefully," she began in a hushed tone. "The phoenix bloodline?"

"Yes, what's wrong? It's believed to be extinct," Helen replied hesitantly.

"Exactly. I have a baby with phoenix blood. Both the mother and the baby have phoenix bloodlines," Scarlet explained, but Helen scoffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I'm saying.I mean what I'm saying.What do I do?" A loud bang on the door startled Scarlet, and she abruptly ended the call forcing her to go to the door.