Chapter 4
The family chapel was cold and damp. Lyra knelt on the stone floor, her knees long since numb.
Candlelight flickered, casting shadows on rows of ancestral tablets that seemed to silently condemn her.
“I didn’t poison anyone…” she whispered to herself, tears falling onto the stone floor.
Memories flooded back like a tide.
When she’d been hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in college, Mason had skipped classes for three days to stay by her bedside.
After marriage, he always remembered to make her brown sugar water during her periods. Even when she got a tiny cut on her finger, he’d panic…
And now, knowing full well that she was terrified of the dark and cold, he’d let her kneel here all night.
At dawn, Lyra finally couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed on the chapel’s icy floor..
When she woke up again, she found herself lying in her bedroom with an ice pack on her forehead.
Mason sat beside the bed. Seeing her open her eyes, he immediately leaned forward. “Lyra, you’re awake? Does it still hurt?”
Lyra turned her face away, her voice hoarse. “I’m the one who tried to harm your child. Why are you here?”
Mason’s expression stiffened, then he explained, “We found out what really happened. Willow ate some bad seafood…”
Lyra laughed bitterly. “Didn’t she say she only had my porridge?”
“She didn’t mean to lie.” Mason frowned. “Pregnant women get confused–it’s normal…”
Lyra closed her eyes, not wanting to hear anymore.
She knew Willow’s tactics all too well–crude, but effective.
But she couldn’t be bothered to expose her, because she knew Mason wouldn’t believe it anyway.
Seeing her silence, Mason felt increasingly guilty. Over the following days, he tried every way to make her happy-
Limited edition handbags, haute couture jewelry, custom–made gowns…. gifts filled the walk–in closet.
Finally, he suggested taking her to a cruise auction to get away from it all.
But when Lyra opened the car door, Willow was sitting in the back seat, flashing her a sweet smile.
“The doctor said pregnant women need to relax too, so I brought her along.” Mason explained.
Lyra said nothing and silently got in the car.
The cruise ship was ablaze with lights.
When Willow appeared on Mason’s arm, she instantly became the center of attention.
“So that’s Vale’s new woman? I heard she used to be some scholarship student…”
“Talk about climbing the social ladder… now she’s set for life with that baby…”
“Poor thing, that Blackwood girl… from high school sweethearts to wedding bells, Vale used to worship the ground she walked on.”
“Well, what do you expect when she can’t have kids? That’s her fatal flaw!”
The whispered comments flew like knives, but Lyra walked through the crowd without changing expression.
After the auction began, Mason completely forgot that he’d originally brought Lyra here to cheer her up.
Because every time an item appeared, Willow would grab his sleeve with sparkling eyes.
“Mason, this is so beautiful…”
“Mason, I love this vase.”
“Mason, this Monet water lily painting is gorgeous.”
Every piece of jewelry and antique that caught Willow’s eye, he bought without hesitation, even putting up a bidding guarantee for her.
This was the auction’s highest form of indulgence–meaning he’d outbid anyone, no matter the price.
When the auction ended, Mason went to settle the bill.
Not wanting to endure the crowd’s strange looks any longer, Lyra went to the deck alone.
The sea breeze was cool. She had just taken her position when Willow’s sickeningly sweet voice came from behind her. “Lyra, getting some air by
yourself?”
Lyra didn’t turn around.
Willow walked up beside her, her tone smug. “That necklace Mason just bought me is exactly like the one you wore at your wedding.
He said it looks better on me.”
Lyra’s fingers tightened slightly.
Willow continued her taunting. “I should really thank you. If you could have kids…”
Before she could finish, a sudden gust of wind whipped across the sea!
‘Ahh-”
Willow screamed as the wind knocked her toward the railing!
nstinctively, she grabbed Lyra’s hand, pulling her down too!
The icy seawater instantly closed over their heads.
yra couldn’t swim. Salty seawater flooded her nostrils as suffocation overwhelmed her.
hrough the haze, she heard the rescue team shouting, “Mr. Vale, we have limited equipment! We can only save one first–you need to decide now!”
Then came Mason’s voice without hesitation: “Save Willow!”
yra’s heart froze completely in that moment.
he stopped struggling, letting her body slowly sink.
Seawater flooded her ears, but couldn’t drown out the sound of her heart shattering.
When the rescue team finally pulled her up, it was five in the morning.
‘Ma’am? Ma’am!”
The rescuer slapped her face. Lyra opened her eyes to see the pale dawn breaking in the east.
Her lips were blue purple, her whole body shaking uncontrollably, yet she felt no warmth at all.
Chapter
Your body temperature is dangerously low. You need immediate medical attention or you could go into shock.”
Lyra nodded numbly and took a taxi to the hospital alone.
The hospital corridor was empty. She dragged her soaked body forward, but at the corner heard Mason’s voice.
“Get every doctor to Willow’s room! Now!”
His voice carried a panic she’d never heard before.
Lyra leaned against the wall, watching doctors rush into the emergency room.
Before long, the attending physician came out. “Mr. Vale, Ms. Harper isn’t in life–threatening danger, but her fever won’t break. We can’t give pregnant women strong medications–we can only use physical cooling methods.”
“What kind of physical cooling?” Mason’s voice was tense.
The doctor hesitated. “The most effective method is… body heat transfer. You’d need to remove your shirt and hold her. The less clothing, the better
the effect.”
The room suddenly went quiet.
‘Mason…” Willow’s weak voice drifted out. “I know you love Lyra… but right now I’m the one carrying your child… Even if not for me, do it for the baby… please help me?”
Her voice was tearful. “Lyra won’t know… just this once… you’re not going to let me and the baby suffer, are you?”
Lyra stood outside the door, hearing Mason’s long silence.
Finally, he said hoarsely, “Everyone out.”
The medical staff left one by one, the door not quite closing, leaving a crack.
Through that gap, Lyra saw Mason standing by the hospital bed, his long fingers unbuttoning his shirt one by one.
His movements were slow, as if he was struggling.
Willow lay in bed, her face flushed, tears glistening in her eyes.
Mason removed his shirt, revealing his muscular torso. He walked to the bedside and with trembling hands began unbuttoning Willow’s hospital gown
One button, two buttons…
Finally, two naked bodies pressed together, locked in a tight embrace.
