For the three people sitting at the table, once they were one hundred percent sure of what Lyle had said, "shock" was an understatement. They stared at him in disbelief. Eira blinked once, then twice, her mouth slightly open as her mind raced, trying to comprehend the gravity of Lyle’s proposal. Marriage? To him?
Her pulse thundered in her ears, and she struggled to maintain her composure. Marry him? Of all the things she’d expected—threats, blackmail, maybe even force—this was not one of them. She stared at him, trying to understand his angle, but his violet eyes revealed nothing except the cold certainty that he had already made his decision.
"You can’t be serious," Eira finally said, her voice low and disbelieving.
Lyle’s expression didn’t change. "I’m very serious. You’ll have everything you need: money, power, protection, control. And I’ll have what I need—my stability, my cure. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement."
Eira’s chest tightened with a mix of dread and defiance. "And if I refuse?"
"Then, as I said before," Lyle replied smoothly, "I’ll take what I need anyway. But I’d prefer to avoid any unpleasantness. This is the easiest path—for both of us."
Her thoughts churned, a thousand possibilities and consequences flashing through her mind. Marrying Lyle Aelion was certainly something most girls would want, and in her situation, where it seemed like she was the one benefiting the most. But in truth, everything would still be in Lyle’s hands. Every decision, every shred of power and control she would gain—it would all come from him. If this were a marriage built on love and trust, perhaps she wouldn’t have these doubts. But Lyle Aelion was a stranger to her, an enigma, and that made everything uncertain. Still, she had something he needed, something she now realized he truly needed.
So, there’s no need to panic, Eira, she thought to herself. As long as you play your cards right, you can be in control too.
With this thought, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Like a contract marriage?"
Lyle smiled at her, not a sincere one, but with a hint of satisfaction. "Like a contract marriage. If you agree right now, I’ll call my lawyer to draft the contract. Once it’s signed, anyone who violates it will face the consequences—even if that person is me."
Jania stared at her boss like she no longer recognized him, while Liam had been thrown off the conversation from the moment Lyle proposed marriage.
Eira remained silent, studying Lyle before finally speaking. "I want to test it first."
Lyle raised an eyebrow.
She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, a smile playing on her lips. "I want to test the benefits I’ll receive by marrying you. If they favor me, I’ll marry you, Lyle Aelion."
Lyle’s lips curved up slightly. "What do you want?"
"I want the CCTV footage from around 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the alley beside Leo’s Sports Bar at 84-19 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights, from twenty-three days ago."
"Is this you? The version of you in this video seems very different from the Ephyra I know," Liam said, watching the footage of the confrontation between Ephyra and her stepsister before her accident, now illuminated on the laptop screen in front of them.
That’s because we’re different souls, Eira thought.
Instead of voicing that thought, she pointed to the screen and said, "The me you see here was stupid and naive. The me now has shed her past self." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ ɴovᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet
"More like you became a completely different person after waking up from your two-week coma."
Eira hummed in response as she transferred the video from the laptop to her phone. As soon as the transfer was complete, she leaned back in her seat, her gaze still fixed on the screen, replaying the confrontation between Ephyra and Mira. The Ephyra before the accident had been weak, helpless, manipulated by others. Eira felt a pang of bitterness watching it, followed by a rush of hatred. But that feeling was quickly replaced by a surge of determination.
"I’ll help you get back at all of them," she murmured under her breath. "They will pay, every one of them. I promise."
Liam glanced at her, eyebrows furrowed. "You really aren’t the same girl, are you?"
Eira smiled faintly, a glint of resolve in her eyes. "I am, and I’m not. But that weak, naive girl? She died the day she was hit by that car."
She closed the laptop and handed it back to the suited Asian man who had brought it over, murmuring a quick thank you.
"When do you plan to leave?" Jania asked.
"My father gets home from work at 6:00 p.m., so I’ll leave at 5:00 p.m.," Eira replied before turning to Lyle. "Thank you for the meal. I’m full."
With that, she stood up and asked the butler to escort her back to her room.
"Please follow me," the butler said, bowing as he led her away. The tension in the room was still thick as the sound of her footsteps faded down the hall.
Lyle watched her go, his expression unreadable. For a moment, the room was silent, each person lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Jania spoke, her voice hesitant.
"Are you really going to marry her?"
Lyle’s gaze remained fixed on the door. "That’s the only way to keep her by my side for as long as I need her," he said simply. "And for that to happen, I’ll give her what she wants."
Jania’s expression showed her doubts. "And what if she doesn’t agree after the test?"
Lyle’s lips twitched into a cold, calculated smile. "Then I’ll remind her why saying ’no’ isn’t an option."
Liam glanced between them, clearly disturbed but wisely keeping silent. He had learned not to question Lyle’s decisions too much, knowing the consequences could be... unpleasant.
As for Eira, once she reached her room, she exhaled a long breath, her hands trembling slightly. She leaned against the door after closing it, her mind racing. The weight of the situation pressed down on her. She had taken a risk by agreeing to Lyle’s proposal, but it was a risk with a potential reward. Now, with the video in her possession, she could make Myra suffer through their father’s harsh punishment.
And it would be especially hellish for a weak little doll like her.