Lyra's POVEveryone in the room seemed as stunned as I was. I knew damn well that I had been the one who ran the fork into Tristan, but Philip was taking the blame for me because Emily suddenly showed up. From how unfazed Philip was and how coordinated he seemed, it was obvious that he had predicted this outcome and had a counterattack waiting.He knew there were people coming for me because of Tristan's murder. I was still sort of confused and surprised about how quickly the news spread about this murder. I didn't expect that if people were going to find out, it would be so soon, and as such, I never made any plans awaiting that day. But it seemed that for my sake, Philip already had a plan waiting.It was as if I didn't need to use my brain as long as he was around because he was going to be the one doing the thinking, worrying, fighting, and killing for my sake. And all I had to do was sit pretty.Well, what a nice life, really.I felt hopeful and warm when those words flowed from
Asher's POVHaving heard the situation that had overwhelmed me and made me feel like trash, being so minimized the way Devlin did, made me very angry.I had been angry upon her arrival and her voice, and the words she was spitting out only helped with the rage; it actually intensified it.I was a person allowed to have my emotions, and those emotions didn't have to align with her own or the ones the world had set for us.This reality that she had just simplified may sound so mundane and simple to someone else's ears as they wondered why the whole drama was going around. But I knew or rather felt how complicated it actually was.I wished it was simple, but it was filled with so many intricacies, and I had to deal with each and every one of them. And that was even putting aside the guilt, anxiety, and depression that the situation had provoked within me. I didn't want to believe that this thing had so much power over me, nor did I want to believe that Devlin was so emotionally unintelli
Devlin's POVI looked through the text message I had just received. I wanted to be sure that I wasn't imagining things and that it really was a text from Philip.The text message had come in almost thirty minutes ago. I was unsure of a lot of things, and one of them was if it was Philip who had sent the message. I recalled when Asher had called me using Philip's phone. So I feared that this was the same thing. That this text message was from someone else who was pretending to be Philip.I was in a state of disbelief, so I called him. If I heard his voice, if he answered my question, then I would be able to believe that he was really the one who texted her."Philip?" I asked when the call connected."Devlin," his voice was still as magical as I remembered. I had not been able to talk to him for a long time now, and it was solely because of Lyra. Upon my arrival, I knew for sure that things were gonna change, and Philip's whole duty would be to her."I just received a text message from
Asher's POVMy heart skipped a beat at what Lyra said. I looked at her, hoping that she could spare me a glance, hoping that in her eyes I would be able to tell if she was joking or not.But she didn't look at me. She didn't even spare me a glance. She didn't meet me with her eyes; instead, her attention was fixed on Catherina.My eyes darted to the man sitting beside her. my eyes were fixed on me as they had been for a while. His gaze was intense, looking at me like his eyes were tattooed on My skin. I didn't dart them. I looked like a predator, gently monitoring his prey so that I could notice anything, waiting for a moment to pounce.But that moment never came.Lyra and Philip abruptly stood up and left, leaving Catherina with me."I had been against their relationship, but I don't think I want to come in between them anymore," Catherina said.I looked at her. I shared the same idea with her; however, my heart was still beating for Lyra. I still loved her dearly."Why do you say so
Asher's POVHe was speechless, and it was not for any reason other than the inability to effectively communicate with Philip, the real reason why I changed my mind about trying to ruin his relationship with Lyra. I hated the idea of being seen as someone who was finally able to see that the fault was his.He knew for a fact that everybody held their breath, waiting for me to come to realization about the real problems I had with Lyra. And now that I had realized, I didn't want to see that expression on Philip's face.That eye-roll. That look of relief that I was finally realizing that I was toxic and I was the problem.I looked away from him and turned to the food on the table. It had grown cold, and I hated cold things. I hated cold people; I hated winter, and I hated myself."Are you gonna answer me?" Philip asked me.I shook my head still not looking at him. "I don't think I want to answer you. I would rather have you stop asking that question."Philip heaved a sigh and then leaned
Lyra's POVI had been unable to get the attack off my head. I was fixated on how scary it was. At that moment, I didn't really feel anything regarding it, but after it happened, it was as if my senses and traumas had been opened and allowed to roam free.She had been sitting in my room all day, not moved from the spot that Philip had left me in. my heart wasn't in the right place, even when Philip had told me he was going to meet Devlin, I couldn't react.She thought of the possibility that Philip had not been there for me, that he didn't love me as much as he did. That he didn't care for me or he couldn't fight anyone off. Would I be dead? There was a huge probability that I would've been dead and buried by now.Without Philip, no matter how much I hated to be so dependent on someone, without Philip, I would have been nothing.She recalled one time that I had broken off the engagement with Philip, Devlin was here, and so was Tristan, and they had made fun of me, constantly reminding
Lyra's POVI frowned as I looked at him. I wasn't pleased that he suddenly brought up Catherina into a conversation that she was not supposed to be mentioned."Why do you have to bring her up?""I'm just saying, don't you think you should hear from her, talk to her?"I shook my head, "I don't want to hear anything from her, I have nothing to say to her, and she has nothing to tell me. Why is this even such an issue for you?" I asked."I know how disturbed you are about this. You can't even be yourself around her, you're not settled, you're in a constant state of worry. I see it. No matter how much you want to hide it, I see it."To tell the truth, surely, not being on good terms with one's own mother was a bit too much. It saddened her; I couldn't get to live the life of everyone else. I guessed that I had been traumatized by the mother I had lived with before. The woman who treated her very horribly, masking it all in discipline.And after hearing that Catherina had also been a bad m
Lyra's POVI and Catherina shared a look before the two of them hurried to the entrance to see for themselves what was really going on.When they arrived there, they saw Asher and Philip looking through the windows. Their expressions were gravely unpleasant, which made me believe that this may be something quite serious."What's going on?" Catherina asked as she moved forward to see for herself.Upon seeing her, Asher and Philip both made way for her. Philip turned to look at me, while Asher chose to explain to Catherina what was going on."I think it's the people," he said, "from their banners, they are demanding that Devlin be made ruler."Catherina stumbled slightly; it was as if her legs suddenly lost strength. She turned around to look at them. "They want Devlin as their ruler? They want a stupid child to rule them?""It doesn't matter if Devlin is stupid or not," Philip said, "what's more important is that if they need her to rule, then they plan to rip you to shreds.""What do