Chapter 3

Lyra

"Have you lost your fucking mind? What are you doing in my bathroom?" I shouted, instinctively clutching the towel tighter around my body until my knuckles turned white.

Without the slightest hint of panic, Kyon reached behind him and quietly shut the bathroom door, as if he had every right to be there. The soft click echoed through the room, making my pulse race even faster.

"You know they will hear you downstairs with that tone," he said, sliding both hands into his pockets with that same infuriating arrogance he wore like an expensive suit.

"Oh, now you're worried about people hearing us?" I let out a dry, humorless laugh, shaking my head in disbelief. "That's rich. You pretended like you hadn't seen me before downstairs."

The muscles in his jaw flexed, the only sign that my words had hit their target.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

Silence, not a single word left his mouth.

I looked at him, my frustration building by the second. I hated how composed he looked, standing there as though nothing had happened between us. Meanwhile, it felt like someone had reached into my chest and was slowly tearing my heart apart. It wasn't fair that he could look so calm while I was barely holding myself together.

Neither of us moved. We simply stood there, staring at each other for what felt far longer than a few seconds. The silence grew heavier with every passing moment until it became almost unbearable. Throwing both hands into the air in exasperation, I groaned. "Have you suddenly forgotten how to speak?"

His gaze slowly drifted downward, settling on the towel wrapped around my body. The way his eyes lingered made my skin crawl.

He took one deliberate step toward me, I immediately stepped back, widening the distance between us.

"Why are you here? You shouldn't be here. Please, leave," I said, tightening my grip on the towel as though it could somehow protect me from him.

Instead of listening, he took another slow step closer. "You never said anything about being related to Mr. Bill. Things would have been different if I knew," he said, his eyes still roaming over my body with unmistakable lust.

"Let me guess," I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest. "You would have found another fat woman, fucked her all night, asked her to reject you the next morning, then paid her off like some escort."

His expression remained unreadable, he took another slow step toward me. This time, I didn't move, I didn't even know why. A few seconds ago, I had instinctively backed away from him, but now my feet refused to cooperate. Maybe it was his presence. Maybe it was the confidence that radiated from him. Whatever it was, it rooted me to the spot.

Before I could react, he stopped directly in front of me, the distance between us disappeared. Then he reached out, wrapped a hand around my waist, and pulled me gently against his body.

My breath caught, I hated myself for it, but I couldn't pretend I didn't feel it. That spark, the strange pull between us. It made absolutely no sense. After everything he had done, after the way he had treated me, I should have wanted nothing more than to shove him away. Yet standing this close to him, my stupid heart betrayed me all over again.

"I just want to make sure that everything that happened last night stays there. Your younger sister doesn't have to know about it. Last night was a fucking mistake," he said.

Just like that, whatever foolish fantasy my mind had wandered into shattered into a million pieces. I quickly stepped away from him, putting as much distance between us as I could.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I keep forgetting that he was nothing more than a first-class douchebag?

"Noted," I said, swallowing the lump forming in my throat as I fought desperately to keep the tears from spilling. There was no way I was going to cry in front of him. "The money was the only good thing about last night anyways. I've had better men."

The bathroom door suddenly swung open, Selena stood in the doorway, her brows knitting together as her eyes moved from me to Kyon and back again.

He immediately stepped away from me, so quickly it was almost convincing enough to make it seem as though nothing had happened between us.

"My apologies," he said with infuriating calmness. "I entered the wrong room." Without waiting for a response, he walked past Selena and left the bathroom.

I could only stare after him. For a few seconds, I couldn't even find my voice.

Selena turned her attention to me before walking closer. "You better not ruin this for me with your fat ass," she said.

I looked at her without saying a word.

"And don't even get any funny ideas, the king doesn't do obese women." With that, she spun on her heels and walked out, leaving me standing there alone.

An hour later, I found myself sitting in the dining room, forcing down what had to be the most awkward lunch of my entire life. The food was delicious, too bad the company ruined it.

"Lyra, can you stop eating so much? Leave some for the guest."

Theo's voice cut through the room, I looked down at my plate. There wasn't even that much food on it. Seriously? Was I supposed to survive on oxygen now? Why did he always find a reason to humiliate me?

No matter what I did, it was never enough. Meanwhile, he couldn't stop showering Selena with compliments. "The Alpha King couldn't have chosen a better bride."

Selena lowered her head shyly, her cheeks turning pink. "Oh, Dad."

"The Alpha King beat Alpha Titus to it. He was planning to come with his son this weekend just to seek Selena's hand in marriage. We are so blessed." He practically beamed with pride. "A lot of offers have been sent."

He paused dramatically before adding, "The news of her beauty has traveled far and wide."

I couldn't stop myself, scoffed. Theo's head snapped toward me, I simply rolled my eyes. If we were talking about face cards, Selena wasn't even in my league. The only thing she had over me was her flawless figure. Perfect curves, tiny waist, long legs. Basically everything my obese body wasn't.

"Forgive the fat one," Theo said with an embarrassed smile, as though apologizing for my existence. "It's been hard getting her a suitor, and it's made her so cranky. Don't mind her. Maybe you can introduce her to one of your security men who's into fat women."

Selena burst into laughter, Mom shot Theo a disapproving glare, Kyon didn't say a single word.

I slowly placed my fork on the table, the appetite I barely had disappeared completely. "I lost my appetite," I said, pushing my chair back as I stood.

"Young lady, sit down. We have a guest," Theo said, frowning at me.

I lowered my head politely. "I am sorry, but I have to go."

I turned and started walking away. "Your manners are so disappointing, just like your weight." His words followed me out of the dining room.

I didn't bother looking back, there was no point. Theo had never cared who was watching whenever he decided to remind me how much he hated me, it was almost impressive.

He never even tried to hide it. As if it were somehow my fault that his mate had fallen in love with a human before meeting him and that I was the result. Even after he and Mom got together, nothing changed, he had never treated me like a daughter.

Hell, he barely treated me like a human being. The only reason I tolerated his miserable ass was because of Mom. She loved him and I loved her enough to put up with him.

About an hour later, after our guest had finally left, there was a gentle knock before my bedroom door opened. Mom stepped inside. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said.

I simply nodded, it had become our routine. Theo insulted me, mom apologized on his behalf. Wash, rinse, repeat.

She suddenly smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I have wonderful news," she said, clapping her hands together like an excited child.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Alpha King has invited our entire family to move to his royal estate."