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Chapter 3

Jaxon Grant

My attention was drawn to the aroma coming from the dining room as soon as I woke up in the living room. My body ached since I was not used to sleeping on the couch, but I felt relieved as the thought of my wife crossed my mind.

The table was already set with series of dish which all looked delicious. My mouth salivated at the sight of them.

"Good morning, wife," My lips curled up in a smile as I walked over to Lyra.

"Good morning," Her voice was low and shaky, turning to glance at me with a forced smile on her face. As much as I didn't want to give it much thought, I couldn't help but notice how awkward she had been around me since yesterday that we got married.

'You two just got married. It's only right that she feels this way' I tried to convince myself. Besides, we didn't date for long before getting married, and we've only hung out a couple of times.

"You didn't have to stress yourself," I said, going to stand beside her. I tucked her hair away, leaning in for a kiss, but she flinched, a sharp gasp tearing through her throat.

"Lyra... Are you ok? You look... tensed," I asked worriedly.

"Hmm... I'm fine," She nodded, obviously uncomfortable. As much I desired spending time with my new wife, I knew best to give her some time to adapt to her new life as a married woman. I guess she needed some time.

"You should go shower and come back for breakfast," She suggested. It was obvious she wanted me to get away from her, so I obeyed her and went inside to shower.

My attention was drawn to my ringing phone just before I went inside the bathroom, so I paused and took the call, not after making sure that Lyra wasn't anywhere close.

"Hey!" I spoke on the phone.

"Good morning, boss," Came Liam's voice from the other end. Liam Knight was my personal assistant and the closest person to me.

"How is it?"

"The house is all ready now, boss. You can move in any moment from now,"

"Alright,"

"How is Mrs Grant?" Liam knew we got married. He was going to be the groom-man, but we didn't eventually get married at the beach.

"Hmm. She's fine,"

"I will call you if I need anything. Bye," I ended the call before heading into the bathroom.

I first saw Lyra four months ago at a cafe shop on a Monday morning during winter. I fell in love with her at first sight. We didn’t get to talk that day, however, fate brought us together two months later at an event where I had gone to represent my Dad, and things kicked off from there. We dated for barely two months before I asked her to marry me, and those moments have been the best moments of my life.

I went back to the dining room to join Lyra once I was done bathing. Surprisingly, she hasn't touched her food yet.

"Why are you not eating?" I asked, pulling out a chair to sit on.

"I was waiting for you," She replied, avoiding my eyes.

"You didn't have to wait for me," I smiled at her before we began eating.

An awkward silence assumed the atmosphere, replaced with the sound of the cutleries we were using to eat.

Something felt off about Lyra which had me worried about her. If there was something I noticed about Lyra since we have been together, it was for a fact that she wasn't a woman with few words, but her behaviour since yesterday was however weird.

'She is probably shy because you both just got married' I concluded.

"I have a surprise for you," I broke the awkward silence, causing her to raise her gaze to me, but she took her eyes away as soon as they met mine.

"A surprise? What's that?"

I couldn't wait to show her to the house I had prepared for us. We were going to move in as soon as we got married, but we couldn't do that yesterday since it wasn't ready yet.

"It's..." I paused and excused myself to take my ringing phone.

"One second, please,"

"Hey," I spoke on the phone, placing it to my ear. It was Liam.

"Your appointment with Mr. Benson is in thirty minutes, boss,"

Mr. Benson was my manager who has been managing my company on my behalf for years.

"Hmm. I'll be there,"

"Do you want me to come pick you up, boss?"

"No. You don't have to,"

After I dropped the call, I turned to Lyra apologetically.

"Honey, I need to be somewhere. I'm sorry I can't spend much time with you, but I promise that I'll be back quickly,"

"Hmm," She nodded without saying a word. It's weird how she didn't frown or complain. Was she excited that I was leaving?

"I'll be back," I stood up and pinched her cheek teasingly before leaving.

*****

The meeting with Mr. Benson went smoothly, and I was soon on my way home to go meet my wife.

The cab soon arrived at my apartment, and after I paid the driver, I headed to the house. My lips curled up in a smile as I looked at the chocolate box in my hand. I had stopped by at Lyra's favourite chocolate store to get it for her since she loves it so much.

"Darling, I'm home," I announced, walking inside the living room, but Lyra was not there, so I presumed she would be in her room.

'What the hell do you think you are doing, Lyra?' I swore it was her voice I heard just when I wanted to open the door, causing me to stop.

'You better not mess with me, Lyra. You don't want to mess with me, trust me' her voice came on again, filled with rage. Who was Lyra? Who was she talking to?

I was still standing there, trying to process what was happening, when the door opened, revealing her. Her face was filled with rage, and her phone was firmly held in her hand.

However, she gasped and flinched the moment she saw me. Her face went pale as though she just saw a ghost.

"You...are...home?" Her voice came out shakily, swallowing whatever was in her throat afterwards.

I stared at her face for the next few seconds, and it was obvious that she was hiding something, but I couldn't wrap my head around whatever she was hiding. "Hmm... I just got here. You look tensed. Are you ok?" I reached for her shaky hand.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was...I was just..." She paused and pursed her trembling lips.

"You must still be tired. You should get some rest," I held her shoulders and took her back inside the room, sitting her on the bed.

"I got you this on my way back," I smiled, handing her the chocolate.

"I'm allergic to chocolate," She quickly shook her head, rejecting the chocolate. Now, this was even more suspicious. The Lyra I knew was a crazy lover of chocolate, especially this particular flavor, so how come she was allergic to it all of a sudden?

Was someone else impersonating Lyra?

"Oh," I mumbled, nodding my head.

I was about to take the chocolate away when she suddenly grabbed it, her hands shaky as she said. "Sorry, I thought it's the flavor I'm allergic to. Thanks for this," She took it from me, giving me a nervous smile.

I stared at her suspiciously, as I slowly nodded. I was sure there was something wrong somewhere, but I couldn't place what it was...