"It's been a while since I last saw him," Lyra said, still spacing out until they reached home. Derrick sat beside her in bed, watching her closely."I can't believe how he still acts like that. He's been trying to use me to benefit himself, but he does it so blatantly. He can't even pretend to like me or respect my existence for a second. All he wanted was a pet that he could order.""You've begun to fight back now, Lyra. It's going to get better. You did your best to not let him have it his way, and I am here to help you continue doing just that. Don't worry about it too much, okay?"Lyra nodded with a pout on her face."It just disgusts me," Lyra sighed. "I thought he was going to change a bit at least." But I guess I was wrong. That's just too sad, though. I wish I could forgive my father, but he's not doing anything for me to at least try that.""Don't force yourself to forgive and forget." It's not the only option.""He's my father. Even though he never took me under his wing, h
Lyra's POV"Which one do you like?" he asked as we entered a huge mall."I don't know," I told Derrick. Of course, I have no idea which one I like the most. I mean, how would I know if I never even got the chance to enter one of these luxurious places before? Who the hell would walk into an exclusive mall knowing that their whole life savings would be drained just for a tiny bag that would hardly fit a coin or two?"This is a cool place, huh?" Zin proudly grinned right behind us.He was the one who suggested this place to Derrick and I. His technological knowledge comes in handy when it comes to squandering his master's fortune. Goodness, I know that I won't enjoy shopping in this place."Stop feeling guilty."What the heck? I gasped as I turned to look at Derrick. How could he possibly read my mind during that time? I wasn't thinking anything bad, was I? How did that freaking happen?"I did not read your mind; stop gasping so much," he said, making me doubt even more before he sweetl
Lyra's POVI couldn't freaking believe this. Looking at the huge paper bags in my room, I could tell that all the clothes that I actually picked just doubled. Derrick was slick; he really made me try out dresses as he and Zin bought other ones at different stores too. There's no freaking way that I'll be able to wear all of these; what a waste!"Stop thinking about anything," Derrick came out of nowhere to whisper in my ear. He sweetly hugged me from behind as he chuckled. "None of these will go to waste anyway, Lyra. You should be preparing from now on, you know that, right?""Preparing for what?" I asked. "Prepare to resell all the pieces that don't fit?""Silly," he said as he kissed my jawline. "Now that I own hotels, you should be helping me, right? Why don't you help me manage it? I am sure that you know a lot more than I do.""What?" He really thinks I do know a lot? "I know nothing at all, Derrick. It's not apparent, but goodness, I am dumb when it comes to businesses.""We hi
"Roll the dough thin enough, roll the dough—ugh!"Zin wanted to hit the counter with his wooden rolling pin when he accidentally poked a hole in his freshly-made noodle dough. He spent at least an hour watching a bunch of videos and ordering the needed ingredients just to successfully copy what he watched."Nobody said that ruining the dough is much easier than every other step; this sucks!"Before he could argue with his phone, he heard the doorbell ringing. He checked his phone to see if there were any other deliveries for him, but he saw that everything was marked as delivered."Huh?" He scratched his hair with his flour covered hand before heading to the door.As Zin opened the door, a woman with a huge smile popped out."Hello—oh, you are not Lyra," she greeted Zin. Her smile turned into a frown as she looked up at the tall gate. "Did she give me the wrong address?"Zin shook his head. "No, she lives here." Who are you?""Raine," the woman said so nonchalantly, before forcing her
"Everything smells amazing, Zin," Lyra commented as soon as she entered the kitchen.There was a mixture of something sweet and savory in the air, and during these moments, she would often find Zin excitedly holding his fork, ready to dive in. However, at the moment, she could see him pout while shaking a huge bowl of salad. She could tell how disappointed the boy was based on how loud his sigh was."Oh wow, is this how rich people order?" Raine whispered behind her. She glanced at the dishes one by one.Chicken soup, roasted duck, turkey legs, different soups with what seemed like chicken or some other type of bird, and an assortment of egg dishes—Raine could tell the theme just by looking at the table."You guys must really love... birds?"Zin rolled his eyes. "That's really awesome," he said. Turning at Lyra, he pouted even more and mouthed, "He's too mean.""Zin, why don't you order something? You like burgers, right?""I can't," he responded."Please order me some, Zin," Lyra ask
"You've got to be kidding me." Zin sighed, his forehead cupped by both his palms. "Why am I the one being tormented like this?" He turned to look outside the car window, where he could see Lyra and Raine walking from the hospital."Do you think I should do it?" Derrick asked. "Of course you have to be the one to help Raine.""She is going to pay her drug dealer and get out of the gang life; it sounds dangerous, master!""Of course it is. You know how that world works.""But I can't do anything about that. They will fight for sure!""Then fight.""I can't do that! I am nothing but a frail-""Keep her safe, and I will think of completing your human form."A black feather popped out of his head upon hearing his promise. He sat up straight with a huge smile on his face."I can try," he said. "You just want me to make sure that Miss Lyra won't be too affected, right?""Exactly.""I can do that!"Raine entered the car, followed by Lyra at the back. The girls looked like they had just cried
"This is weird," Raine said as she watched Lyra roll out a suitcase for her. "I came to your home unannounced. I didn’t bring anything with me. But now that I am leaving, you’re giving me this huge luggage? What the hell’s in that?""Zin’s body," Lyra joked. The two of them laughed. "Come on, you’re going to be my partner in this new business. You should dress up formally.""I think you packed every dress you own in that bag.""Huh?" Lyra was confused. "Oh, that doesn’t have any clothes in it.""Then what’s in there?""Money," Lyra said casually."Mon-money?" Raine took notice of how huge the luggage was. It could fit her whole body if she really tried to. "It’s not filled with money, right?""Oh, it is." Lyra stated. "You should also help me renovate the apartment building. Zin is handling that, but he will be telling you all about it later on."Raine gasped, "How much money were you going to give me?" she asked. "At this point, you would be able to buy my whole existence.""Please l
With his every kiss, Lyra felt drunk. With his touch, her body responded in a way that she never planned. The heat from her cheeks traveled all the way down to her entire body. It was too much for her to handle. Lyra was burning as if her fever was high enough to fry an egg on her bare skin. Her heart raced like she just ran a marathon, and it's not stopping any time soon.The little light that comes from a crevice between their black-out curtains was the only thing that let her catch a clear glimpse of reality. Lyra was too out of it, busy with his every movement. She could hear her own heartbeat as the burning sensation from his hand began to travel from her thigh up to the inside of her shirt. It made her gasp. She has no idea what got into her when she lifted up her own shirt. However, she felt a rush because he seemed overjoyed about it. Halfway up, he pulled it off for her and threw it somewhere in the room.Lyra was able to see his eyes clearly. It was filled with so much eager
"It’s already seven; where is she?""I swear, Zin, they told me that they would be home immediately; they were just in the restaurant; what would take them so long? They can walk from there to here and it will only take an hour.""I think we should have followed Miss Lyra around as well," Zin replied to Dame. "It is much more difficult for us to take good care of her when we are still focused on the office job. It’s going to risk her life even more. We made a really bad decision; I am already calling it." Zin bit his lips and sat back down on the couch, looking out of the window to see the exact moment that the security people and Lyra would arrive back home. "I think it’s better if we just tell her exactly whats happening. It could really be the best option, but we ignored it like a psycho and chose the risky approach.""I know that trusting other people for Miss Lyra’s safety is a little bad for us to do, but it’s a matter that should be stopped by humans, right?" Dame stated. "If s
"It’s been fine," Lyra happily smiled as she spoke with her friend, Rhian. "I know that you two might think that I am lying, but I swear, I am doing a lot better this week. I am trying my best to have my best life.""I know you are really worried because of your relationship with Derrick; Zin has already told me that," Raine joined in as she placed two huge bowls of shaved ice dessert on the table. "He had told me that the two of you had a really bad fight. He asked us to be extra nice to you because you are really sad about it.""Yeah," Lyra lied. "But we were able to talk it out.""Of course, nothing will be resolved when you put time and effort into communicating your real feelings and your true emotions. It’s really great to hear!"Lyra nodded once again. She was not able to tell her friends that everything they were talking about right now were thoughts and pieces of information that appeared out of nowhere. Dame and Zin had informed Lyra one week ago that there was a rumor roami
"Dame!" Zin rushed inside the mansion with sweat dripping from his forehead. He saw how Dame’s eyes grew big in surprise, and before he could even say anything to him, Zin had already snatched his cold beer and chugged it right in front of him. "What happened to you?" Dame looked around, checking whether there was someone chasing after Zin. However, aside from the beautiful and calm view of the pool behind him, there was nothing. "Why do you look like that?" Is there someone chasing after you? Are you in trouble?" "I don’t think I was being chased," Zin said. Dame rolled his eyes when he answered. "Then why do you have to come in here as if you were about to die or something? You stressed me out within the few seconds that you arrived." He grabbed the bottle of beer from Zin’s hand and took a sip from it as if claiming what was his. "What’s wrong with you then? Were you able to visit Master?" "I did," Zin answered, sitting beside Dame. "I actually did a lot more than that, and I r
As Zin soared higher in the darkened sky, he marveled at the view before him. The borders of hell and earth were marked by a jagged line of jagged rocks that extended as far as the eye could see. The air was thick with the stench of sulfur, and the sky was a deep shade of crimson that seemed to bleed into the horizon. In the distance, he could see the dark silhouettes of mountains rising up against the fiery sky and the occasional flicker of flames dancing in the abyss. It was a desolate and terrifying landscape, but one that Zin had grown accustomed to over the years. As a demon of hell, he had traveled to the borders many times, but this time felt different, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. Going closer to the edge, he felt tightness in his chest. It's always been this way whenever he flew closer to crossing the borders. He could already feel the breeze coming from the land of the living, but his gut feeling seemed to have won that tim
Elvis sat in his grand office, surrounded by opulence and extravagance. The room was adorned with expensive paintings and rare collectibles, but the air was thick with tension. Wendy, his best partner in crime, sat across from him, her face set in a deep frown. The only sound in the room was the soft ticking of a gold-plated clock on the mantle. Despite the grandeur of the room, there was a sense of foreboding that seemed to permeate every inch of the space. Both knew that they were treading dangerous waters with their plan to bring down Lyra, and the tension between them was palpable.Elvis sat across from Wendy in his office, his eyes locked on hers as he pitched his latest plan."Wendy, I need you on this one," he said, his voice low and urgent."What's the plan, Elvis?" Wendy asked, crossing her arms."We need to bring Lyra down," he said, leaning forward in his seat. "Something that we always do, but this time it's going to work out!"Wendy listened to Elvis with a sense of appre
Dame was surprised to find Lyra sitting alone in the dark living room with no lights on. He had brought lots of food back to the mansion, hoping to lift her spirits, but seeing her like this made him worried. It was really bad timing that Zin decided to try and go back down to hell that night. Dame could tell, just by the vibes that had hit him straight on, that he wouldn't know how to deal with Lyra like that."Miss Lyra, are you okay?" he asked, placing the bags of food on the coffee table in front of her. He wanted to kick himself in the face. The look in her eyes is the perfect tell that she is not doing alright, but he still chose to ask, just to make her feel bad that it shows. "You know what, let me just get the lights; don’t even bother," he whispered before walking directly to the switch.Lyra looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "You are already back?" she asked, confused as she watched the leaves outside the window dance. "It’s already dark outside," she sa
A black bird flew into Derrick's shoulder as he was calmly watching over the newly appointed demons in his realm. As soon as he was able to look into its eyes, his mouth fell wide open, and his jaw hit the floor beneath him. He won't be able to forget those eyes, and he would never forget how Zin looks when he's in his real form.Immediately, Derrick stood up to snap his fingers in the air, and without waiting for another second, they were inside a dark room. Derrick's own little space whenever he wanted to stay out of everyone's sight. His only hiding spot from all the demons that would often try to bombard him with a bunch of questions or sometimes the yells of those souls who were being punished."What are you doing here?" he immediately asked. Right before his eyes, he watched as Zin transformed into his human form to hug him. "Zin, is there something going on? Why are you back here? You crossed the borders again?""Master, it doesn't matter right now," he said, still clinging on
Derrick paced back and forth on his desolate throne in hell, tormented by the images and thoughts invading his mind. He kept seeing Lyra, his beloved wife, surrounded by sinister figures and cloaked in shadows. The more he tried to push the visions away, the more they persisted. Even if he knew that he'd only bring chaos into Lyra's life, he found out that he wouldn't be able to give it up that quickly. Especially after he spent an entire month's worth of time in hell reminiscing about the moments they had together."My dear, please be safe out there," he whispered, wishing that it was only the thoughts in his head that kept on messing him up and not real visions or premonitions of what was happening or what was supposed to come for Lyra in the land of the living. If that was the case and he's stuck down in the depths of nothingness, he will for sure not be able to move forward. He is afraid of what he might end up doing just to stop that."I do not need much," he stated. "I only need
Lyra sat at the breakfast table, pushing her food around with her fork as Zin and Dame bid her farewell. "We'll be back as soon as we can, Miss Lyra," Zin said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Take care of yourself," Dame added, placing a hand on Lyra's shoulder. "If you need anything, just call us." Lyra forced a small smile. "Thanks, guys. I'll be fine. I just need some rest, that's all." Zin and Dame exchanged a worried glance before Zin spoke up. "Are you sure you don't want us to stay? We can handle the hotel issues later." Lyra shook her head. "No, it's fine. You guys go ahead. I'll take care of myself." As they gathered their things and made their way out of the mansion, Lyra was left alone with her thoughts. She couldn't shake the conversation she had with Lucifer out of her head, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. "I can't believe he would do something like that," she muttered to herself, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why would he want to