Weston was still inside, talking to a server about the bill–too far to do anything.
Joel moved without thinking. One leap–and he threw himself in front of Lyra.
The acid hit his back and head, sizzling through his skin like fire.
Joel screamed–raw and guttural.
1/2
Chapter 18
+25 BONUS
Lyra froze, stunned–then charged straight at Renee and slapped her, hard.
If Joel hadn’t jumped in, her face would’ve been ruined.
Renee staggered, clutching her cheek, eyes locked on Joel–burned and bleeding.
“Wh–Why’d you protect her? I wasn’t aiming for you…‘
Lyra didn’t wait–she slapped her again, even harder.
16
“You’re DONE. The Fenwicks won’t let this slide. And neither will I.”
The ambulance showed up fast. As paramedics loaded Joel onto the stretcher, he looked at Lyra, eyes bloodshot, voice barely a whisper.
“Lyra… after this… can you forgive me?”
She stared at him, blood soaking through the stretcher. She opened her mouth–but he was already out cold.
***
Three days later, Lyra got the call–Joel’s condition had taken a turn for the worse.
The acid had burned deep into the back of his head, leading to severe infections. He’d been stuck in the ICU, barely hanging on.
Just like she figured, Dominic didn’t let Renee off easy. He brought in a team of top lawyers and had her dragged
to court.
Lyra even flew back to Lindale, the maid in tow, to testify about the time Renee threw a vase at her on purpose.
In the end, Renee got hit with a thirty–year sentence.
With everything going down, Lyra didn’t have the heart to plan a wedding. Weston didn’t ask questions–just publicly announced the postponement.
A few days later, Dominic called. His voice was old, frail, and shaking.
“Lyra… please come. Just once. Joel’s… not going to make it.”
Lyra froze, her mind going blank. She looked over at Weston, lost.
He pulled her close, steady and warm. “Go. No matter what happened before–he saved your life. You won’t regret saying goodbye.”
In the car, Lyra stared out the window, thoughts spinning.
She didn’t love Joel anymore–had even hated him for a while.
But this time… he’d saved her.
