Chapter 5
“THIS IS REALLY INAPPROPRIATE.”
“The two of us sharing an elevator?”
Kyara looked at her boss, Lyrius gazed back at her, and well, she could only be impressed at how good he was at pretending to be dense and obtuse when all the business articles about him spoke of his ruthlessness and cunning.
“What if someone sees us?” she asked finally.
“That’s your problem, not mine.”
The very selfishness of his answer nearly had her choking. Seriously?
“But in any case, they’ll get used to seeing me take you home sooner or later.”
“No, they won’t,” she protested. “You’re my boss—”
“And your future boyfriend—”
“I already have a boyfriend!”
“Yes, me.”
“No, not you—”
“For now. But I will be once you break up with him.”
“I won’t break up with him!”
“Even if he’s made you cry?”
“It’s...it’s a misunderstanding. We’ve never had a misunderstanding—”
“You’re not lying, are you?”
Oh, finally!
All these back-and-forth had been making her feel like she was such a loser, but finally, here was something she could be proud of.
“No, I’m not lying. We never had a—w-why are you smiling?”
“Why shouldn’t I? You just as good as told me you found him boring.”
“I didn’t say that at all!”
“Ah, my mistake. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that your relationship was boring? Is that better, kyria?”
“No, it’s not better!” Why did she sound so defensive even to her ears? “And it’s not true either because I can prove it—”
“Can you now?”
“Yes, I can!”
Don’t say it. Don’t do it. Don’t lie.
But it seemed like she was bound for heck for good—
“We don’t have a boring relationship at all because we kiss all the time!”
Lyrius stiffened beside her.
He had not been prepared for that one.
Because she just couldn’t seem to stop lying.
“Yes, that’s true, we kiss all...the...time.”
And now she was paying the price, with her voice turning smaller and smaller at each word, and no, oh no. Why was he looking at her like...like she had betrayed him?
Lyrius couldn’t remember feeling this...ravaged. The moment he had heard her say those words, his mind hadn’t wasted time envisioning it—
His Kyara kissing someone else, another man’s mouth claiming hers, and—
Shit.
Had he been fooling himself all this time about her?
About them?
Had he gotten it all wrong, thinking that there was still a chance for them when instead—
Kyara was still struggling to muster the courage to talk to her boss when the elevator reached the basement parking, and the moment she saw a cold, blank mask settle over her boss’s handsome features—
No, oh no.
Was she too late? Had she lost the chance to explain herself?
“Mr. Ha—”
He didn’t even let her finish, with her boss cutting her off as he addressed his chauffeur. “Please drive Ms. Dunn home, Elbert. That will be all.”
Kyara knew she should say something, but it was impossible, with her mind replaying over and over the way he had stiffened—
We don’t have a boring relationship at all because we kiss all the time!
—like she had stabbed his heart.
Her lips parted, but she just didn’t know what to say, and when her boss suddenly took a step toward her, Kyara automatically stepped back—
Oh no.
She only realized that was exactly how he had planned it when that single step back had her out of the elevator, and before she knew it, the doors were already closing, and it was just so, so strange. Why did her heart feel so much heavier than it did when she heard about Cyrus cheating on her?
“Shall we leave, Ms. Dunn?”
“Um, I’m sorry, there’s no need—”
“It would be a pleasure to drive you home, Ms. Dunn.” Elbert opened the door for her. “Shall we?”
Kyara could only smile weakly and nod. Anything other than that would be a discourtesy.
The drive back home was quiet. She only had to give Elbert her address, and that was it. It was her first time to ride a limo, and her heart ached a little at the thought because it was one of the things Cyrus often talked about.
When Dad retires, and I become CEO, I’m going to have my own driver drive me around. But my limo will be way better than his. Gonna be pimped from front to end, know what I mean?
Whenever Cyrus talked about cars, Kyara didn’t actually know what he meant but she just nodded and smiled because it was what she believed a supportive girlfriend should do. You supported even when you didn’t get it.
You supported however you could, whenever you could, but...she didn’t think that could extend to cheating, could it?
Oh my gosh! I knew it! I knew it!
How long have you and Cyrus been dating?
About two months now.
We’re going to Vegas tomorrow, darling.
And you know what everyone does in Vegas, right?
The voices came back to Kyara in fragments, the way they had reached her on the landing between five and six, and her palm had closed around the cold metal rail without her telling it to. The memory still stung, but her mind was less than a daze now, and it really didn’t hurt as bad anymore.
But when she let herself remember the look on her boss’s face—
We don’t have a boring relationship at all because we kiss all the time!
Yes, that’s true, we kiss all...the...time.
—and the way he had stiffened beside her, his jaw going tight, and how he hadn’t been able to look at her—
Kyara bit her lip hard.
And then she bit it harder.
And now she was biting it as hard as she could, but it was no use.
All she could do was cover her mouth so she didn’t make a sound as she started crying. She didn’t even know why or who she was crying for. The only thing she knew was that she had hurt him.
Her boss.
She had hurt...him, when all he had wanted was to...have her.
And knowing that hurt her, too.