While the sounds were pretty easy to identify for a man of his experience, he had zero interest in finding out which couple was behind them. What people did during their private time was their business, never mind if they were doing such things at their place of work.
“Did you hear that?”
The voice was distinctly female and slightly familiar, which gave Lyrius all the more reason to step back and let the door swing shut. But just as the shadowy corners in the hallway concealed his form, the door’s peep-window allowed him a glimpse of the couple rushing down from the rooftop—
Didi.
He recognized right away, unfortunately, and she was hurriedly fixing her hair as she ran past the peep-window while right behind her was...Wallace.
Chapter 12
EIGHT HOURS.
That was how long it had been since Kyara had been moved to Accounting,and five hours of those were overtime that wouldn’t be paid. Cyrus had told her as much, leaning over her new desk the same way he’d once leaned over a diner booth to tell her about Vegas, and Kyara could only nod because if she didn’t...
What would happen to Lyrius?
Her body felt so heavy as she finally started gathering her things. Cyrus had pretty much treated her like a slave in the past eight hours, making her run errands until her feet had blisters, and it was all she could do not to cry every time the back of her flats scraped against her ankles. By six, the floor had started emptying out. By eight, it was just her at her new desk with the overhead lights down to half-brightness and the cleaning cart parked at the end of the corridor.
Her phone rang just as she rose to her feet, and she was so, so tempted not to answer it when she saw Shayla’s name on the screen. While Shayla was one of the kindest persons she had ever known, she was just so, so tired, and she just wanted to be alone.
Her phone kept ringing, and Kyara’s conscience started nagging at her. Shayla would be too courteous to ever ask her why Kyara had failed to answer her call, but God would know, and right now...
“Hey.”
Right now, she needed all the help she could get from God, and so she did her best to sound cheerful as she answered Shayla’s call.
“Sorry it took me so long to answer.”
“—ara! Can you hear me?”
The line was crackling badly, and in the background, she could also hear people speaking in a mixture of Italian, Greek, and English, along with the sound of roaring engines and the loud cheers of the crowd.
Oh, right.
Shayla had told her two weeks ago about flying to Monaco for some racing event with Adriano.
“I’ve been—reach you!”
The words came out choppy, but Kyara understood them enough that she knew Shayla was basically asking why she hadn’t been answering the other woman’s emails. And the truth was—
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me! We can talk when you’re back from Monaco! Love you, bye!”
The truth was something she still didn’t know how to handle, and so here she was, lying through her teeth again even though she knew it could never lead to good.
I’m sorry, Shayla.
The logical and hopeful part of her was aware of how Shayla and Adriano had the means to help her. She only had to ask. But at the same time...asking for their help also felt so selfish because that could potentially make things worse for Lyrius. And she just...she just couldn’t bear taking such a risk when Lyrius...
Don’t cry. I don’t want to cry. So don’t cry.
But it was too late.
The moment she allowed his name to pop in her mind, it was all over for her. The moment she thought about him, she just couldn’t stop remembering all the times he had been so, so good to her while she...
I’m sorry, Lyrius. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.
She hated herself for being so weak. For not being able to do anything but cry and say ‘sorry’ after uttering one lie after another to the very people who cared for her and—
