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
Lyra's POVI cried so hard, I had completely forgotten that Catherina had been a horrible person, and all I remembered was that Catherina had been a good leader and Catherina had been a mother seeking her daughter's forgiveness. A mother willing to do everything for her daughter.I couldn't believe that I had held on to my rage that I refused to see the efforts that she was putting into trying to gain my favor.I felt utterly regretful for what happened. I had not even had the chance to tell her that she was forgiven before she died. I couldn't even tell her why I had been angry. Couldn't tell her the things that were in my mind.I should've listened to Philip.Philip had been saying the truth all this while. He had been so honest and real to her.I shook my head."Lyra, I'm sorry, but we need to go." Asher tapped on my shoulder.I lifted my head and looked to where Devlin was struggling to stand to her feet, "there's nowhere to run to. Do you think we're the only ones who came?" She
Lyra's POV"How are we supposed to find the room?" Asher asked in frustration. "There are like seven rooms here and from the footsteps heading our way we surely don't have enough time to browse through".He was right. I looked around and on both sides of the hallway were seven rooms, it made one wonder what these rooms were used for. And to think that the room given to Philip and I was not even in this hallway."One of you should try to hold them back". I suggested, "that's the only way we can kill time".They looked between themselves, I could tell from their eyes they were debating who it was that would be going to take the risk.Yes it was really risky. The footsteps were getting closer and there was no door or gate or whatever to hold them back. Whoever was going to take that risk had to be at the very least super. More super than they are naturally.And of course, all eyes fell on Philip. He was evidently more adept in his skills than the rest of us were. He was ruthless as well