ログインLyraBen’s eyes widened as he stared at me, he took a slow step closer to me, his voice low but edged with disbelief. “Do you really think Nick would want this?”I didn’t answer immediately. My jaw tightened as I folded my arms around myself, nails digging into my skin.Ben shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “Nick would be disappointed,” he said. “If he knew this was your plan. If he knew this is what you want to do to him.”Each word landed heavy.“He wouldn’t want this,” Ben continued, his voice firmer now. “Not from you.”I swallowed hard, my throat burning.“For years,” Ben went on, pacing slowly, “he’s been managing his health, while….I closed my eyes. “Waiting for you to come back to him,” Ben said quietly.My chest tightened painfully.“I think the happiest time of his life,” Ben said, stopping in front of me, “was when you came back. When he realized you were his Lyra."My breath hitched.“The one he’d been waiting for,” Ben added. “That moment? That was everyth
Lyra“Oh… finally.”The words slipped out of me the second I collapsed into the chair in Nick’s vacation house. My body sagged like it had been carrying something far heavier than weight. My arms rested uselessly in my lap, but my mind refused to sit still. It ran in frantic circles, replaying everything, I didn’t want to see again.The house felt too quiet. I rubbed my palms against my thighs, trying to ground myself, but my fingers wouldn’t stop shaking. My eyes stayed glued to the hallway, counting the seconds Ben had been gone. Every creak of the house made my heart jump.Then footsteps. Ben stepped out of the room.I straightened immediately, my breath hitching. His face told me everything before his mouth opened. His jaw was tight, his eyes tired, like he’d aged ten years in the last hour.“I already put Nick in the room,” he said carefully.My stomach dropped. “You can’t go in there,” Ben continued, his voice low. “Not right now.”“Why?” The word slipped out fast, sharp. My fi
Lyra“No.” The word crawled out of my mouth, thin and broken, like it had scraped its way through glass to escape. My head shook without my permission, fast and hard, my whole body rejecting what Ben had just said.“That can’t be,” I whispered, then louder, desperate. “That can’t be.”Tears streamed down my face freely now, hot and unstoppable. My hands trembled as they reached for Nick again, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt like I could physically anchor him to this world if I held tight enough.“This can’t be,” I said again, my voice shaking so badly it barely sounded like mine. “Nick can’t be dead. He just can’t.”My fingers dug into the fabric over his chest. “My man can’t be dead,” I sobbed. “You don’t get to say that. You don’t.”I looked up at Ben, my vision swimming. “You have to do something,” I pleaded. “Please. You have to.”Ben crouched beside us, his face tight, his jaw clenched like he was holding himself together by force. “Lyra,” he said softly, “I’m not happy either, b
Lyra“Nick… please.” The word barely made it out. It felt trapped somewhere between my chest and my throat, crushed under panic. My hands were on him already, shaking so badly I could barely tell where his shoulders ended and the ground began.“Nick, open your eyes,” I said again, louder now, like volume alone could drag him back.But I got nothing.My entire body trembled, my knees pressed into the gravel as I leaned over him, my fingers skimming his jaw, his neck, his chest, searching for something. But he was too still.That was wrong.“Oh God,” I whispered, my breath coming too fast, too shallow. “No, no, no.”I pressed my ear to his chest, holding my breath like the sound might be shy. My heart slammed against my ribs as I waited.But I got nothing. My hands flew to his face. “Nick,” I said sharply, like I was scolding him. “This isn’t funny. You don’t get to scare me like this.”I bent closer, panic overriding logic, my lips hovering over his nose. I blew air into it, awkward an
Lyra“Nick!” My voice tore out of me, sharp and cracked. My knees buckled the moment I tried to move.The ground felt wrong beneath my palms when I caught myself, cool, uneven, slightly damp. My breath came out in short, panicked bursts as fog pressed in from every direction, thick and heavy, clinging to my skin like it had weight.I blinked hard. “Nick?” I called again, quieter this time, fear slipping into the sound whether I wanted it to or not.My head throbbed. There was a pressure behind my eyes, like someone had squeezed my brain and forgotten to let go. I pushed myself upright, swaying immediately, my balance shot to hell.I took a step forward. Or tried to. The fog swallowed everything above my shoulders. I couldn’t see the sky. Couldn’t see buildings. Couldn’t even tell if we were indoors or out. It felt like standing inside a half-formed nightmare, the kind where your body moves but your surroundings refuse to make sense.Then I heard it. A sound—low, broken. A whimper.
Lyra“No…no, please,” the words spilled out of me before I could stop them. My voice sounded thin, fragile, like it might snap in half at any second. “Please. Who are you?”My fingers dug into the seat beside me, knuckles whitening as the car continued down the wrong road. “Please,” I said again, louder this time. My chest felt tight, like something heavy was sitting right on it. “Just tell us who you are.”The driver didn’t answer immediately, Instead, he glanced at us through the rearview mirror, his blood-red eyes catching the light. His lips curved slowly, deliberately, like he was savoring the moment.“You really want to know?” he asked.My heart sank. “Yes,” I said, my voice trembling. “Please.”His smile widened.“Then I’ll tell you.”Before I could process what that meant, his foot slammed down on the accelerator.The car lurched forward violently, throwing me back against the seat. A sharp gasp ripped from my throat as my head snapped back. The engine roared, screaming like







