"Calm down!" He caught her hand, his body trapping her beneath him before she could push him away.
"Get off me!" she cried, but he didn't even flinch.
Lucas couldn't control Lyra at all. He had missed her, and all he wanted was to talk after not seeing her for so long—yet she was already fighting to break free.
Lucas was afraid at this rate, people would think he had kidnapped her.
The thought made no sense to him. Lyra was still his fiancée. She was only throwing a tantrum, only sulking because he had postponed the wedding.
She'd calm down eventually. She always did.
He never once considered everything between them had already ended.
Lucas sealed her lips in a desperate attempt to silence her, convincing himself it was the only way to calm her down even as her struggle only grew more frantic.
Lucas didn't stop until her resistance began to fade, unaware that what he saw as submission was only her strength slipping away.
He finally pulled away, and both of them were left breathless, his hand still locked around her wrist.
"Are you calm now?" he asked. His eyes had softened after the kiss.
Lyra pressed her lips tightly together as a single tear slipped down her cheek. The sight made Lucas's eyes widen.
This wasn't what he wanted at all.
"It's just me. Why are you acting like this?"
Lyra's lips parted as she struggled to catch her breath.
"W-we're done. I'm not your fiancée anymore!" she huffed, her chest rising and falling with each shaky breath.
"What? You dare bring that up again?!" His voice was low and rough, cracked with fury and frustration.
He pressed his face into the hollow of her neck and inhaled slowly, believing that her body would eventually remember him, this was what love was supposed to do.
But Lyra's body went rigid. Her fingers curled tightly.
"Get off me… please," she begged. Tears gathered and slipped down her cheeks, more than before.
Lucas went still.
Seeing her like that, his chest tightened. Guilt flickered through him, but he still hesitated to let her go—it had taken him so long, so much effort, just to find her again.
He reached up and tilted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Promise me… don't run," he said, "We need to talk."
Lyra nodded quickly.
Not because she meant it, but because she needed to survive the moment. Her body screamed for distance.
Lucas slid to the side and exhaled sharply. "Lyra, why have you been avoiding me?" he murmured to the ceiling.
Lyra drew back, putting space between them. Her hair was mussed, her breathing uneven as she struggled to gather herself.
His gaze was drawn back to her, puzzled by the distance she kept.
"Why are you acting like I'm a stranger?" he asked.
"Yes, we're strangers. Lucas, we're over. You have to accept it."
Lucas jumped up abruptly and moved closer, making her startle and nearly fall off the bed.
He caught her just in time, but she pushed him away, "Don't touch me!" her voice sharp.
Lyra never let him touch her again.
A bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Lyra… why are you so determined to push me away?"
Lyra shook her head quickly.
"You ran away that day and canceled our wedding. We ended things then. I'm married now. I… I can't be with you again."
"Married? With who? Rowan Pierce? You seriously expect me to believe that?"
…
Kane strode up to the front desk and tapped twice to get the staff's attention.
"Excuse me," he said, voice tight. "I need to send something to room 1203. Could you help me reach them?"
After he came back, he head straight to her room but no answer. At first he thought, maybe his madam was in the shower, or had some business in the bathroom.
Thirty minutes had passed, and still no answer from her. It made him uneasy. Earlier, she'd been desperate for her phone.
The staff tried to help, but after three failed calls, they gave up. "They're not answering," she said, shaking her head.
Kane's shoulders slumped, his mind racing, but he quickly regained control. He needed to find his madam.
Kane kept tapping the counter, thinking, what should he do next.
He had a lightbulb moment.
He swiped through his phone, pulled up a photo of Lyra, and thrust the screen toward her.
"Have you seen this woman leave the hotel?"
She frowned. "No." She called a coworker nearby and the guard at the entrance, checked and they said the same—no sign of her.
"Damn!" Kane clenched his fists, a cold dread settling in. If madam was missing, surely Rowan would kill him!
"I need access to your security cameras. She might be missing!" Kane's voice was tight with desperation.
The staff glanced at each other, uneasy. "Normally, this kind of request comes with a police report," one of them said.
Kane's shoulders slumped an instant, eyes pleading. "Please… this isn't about protocol. It's her life. You have to help me."
For a moment, silence hung in the air, Kane's desperation written all over his face.
"Hold on here, sir. We'll go ask the manager," one of the staff said.
After a minute, the manager came running from the door behind the counter, face flushed.
He had checked the customer register name, Rowan Pierce—someone whose request they knew they couldn't deny.
They went to check the CCTV immediately. It showed Lyra entering the elevator after leaving the ground floor.
But after that, the footage suddenly cut out, the cameras glitching. The staff exchanged uneasy looks. Something felt off.
Now, Kane had no choice. He had to tell Rowan—and when he did, he'd skin him alive.
He prayed for God to save his madam, so he could stay alive.
Kane tapped his phone screen and called his boss.
"Kane, what's going on?" Damian answered.
Damian had no idea how Kane's heart was hammering, nearly jumped out of his chest.
He'd been expecting Rowan's voice.
"Where's boss?" Kane muttered, fidgeting, but trying to stay calm and professional.
"Boss? He's in a presentation," Damian said.
"Everything alright?"
"It's worse! Madam's missing. I've checked around the hotel—she's nowhere to be found," Kane said, his voice tight.
"Are you serious? Don't joke about this—it's not something to mess around with," Damian warned.
"I'm not joking. We need to tell him immediately. We're combing through the floors now," Kane pressed.
Click—the line went dead.
At the conference, Rowan stood upright on stage, delivering a critical presentation. Damian didn't wait—he hurried up and whispered urgent news.
Rowan's expression hardened instantly.
He abandoned the podium without another word as Damian sprinting closely behind him.
The audience murmured in confusion, puzzled by the sudden departure.