CHAPTER 59: REUNION IN NORTHVALE

"I barely knew you. How could I trust you? And you were a private investigator, not a bodyguard," Lyra said, trying to test him.

He joked so often that it was hard to tell when he was serious.

Martin clutched his chest, as if her words had stabbed straight through his heart.

Then he shot back, "Oh, so you trusted a bodyguard you just met? Who knew, he could’ve been a scammer. Or maybe he was the one who put your name on the dark web."

Martin smiled after that and said, "So tell me, beautiful... how’s that for trust?"

Lyra raised a finger, about to argue back but then she realized he was right.

Then, she chewed the inside her cheek and thinking it over. Right now, she wanted to be alone, and the idea of Martin hovering nearby only annoyed her.

"Mr. Taylor—"

"You don’t have to be so formal," he said. "Just call me Martin."

She hesitated. "...Okay. Martin."

Lyra studied him for a moment. "Do you really know how to fight?"

Martin lifted a brow. "Of course I can fight. I wouldn’t step in if I couldn’t handle it."

"You sound confident," Lyra remarked.

Martin opened his palm and shrugged as if to say, of course.

Lyra held his gaze for a moment longer before making her decision.

"All right. I’ll hire you with on one condition. I don’t want you hovering around me. I need space right now."

"Not a problem," Martin said with a nod.

"I think it’s time to leave. Shall we go now?"

Lyra pushed back her chair, grabbed her bag, and Martin followed, picking up his things.

"Lead the way. I’ll keep up."

...

The emergency ward at Mistvale Government Hospital stirred into chaos when the police rushed a patient inside.

Earlier, Ivy had run to the police station to report what had happened to her.

The officers who took her statement couldn’t calm her down and decided to send her to the hospital.

But as soon as they arrived at the emergency ward, she suddenly bolted and managed to snatch a sharp object from one of the nurses.

Ivy tried to stab herself, but she was unsuccessful. The doctor was forced to sedate her, and she lost consciousness.

"You should pass this file to Dr. Ashford. She usually handles cases like this," one of the doctors said with a frown.

He thinking the nurse had handed it to the wrong person.

"No, Doctor. You’ll be taking this case. Dr. Ashford is on leave right now.

Besides, this patient was sexually assaulted. We can’t hand her over to just anyone. After Dr. Ashford, you’re the only one experienced enough for this."

"Em, okay. In that case, I’ll take over until Dr. Ashford returns from her leave."

Once the nurse was gone, he sighed quietly.

"More workload."

He looked down at the file—Ivy Burns, twenty-two, single.

He exhaled slowly. "Poor girl."

...

Lyra decided to fly to Northvale, where her best friend lived. She planned to stay at her apartment for a couple of days.

Pearl had been living alone since their collage days. That’s why Lyra didn’t mind showing up without warning. By the time she arrived, it was already night.

"Ding..." Pearl’s apartment doorbell rang once.

Pearl checked through the peephole and froze. "No way!"

She quickly opened the door and pulled Lyra into a tight hug. "Lyra... you surprised me!"

Lyra’s arms lifted in midair before she slowly hugged Pearl back. She smiled at her best friend’s reaction.

"Pearl... um, can you let go? I can’t breathe."

"Oh, sorry—sorry." Pearl was just so happy to finally see Lyra. "Let’s go inside."

After Lyra freshened up, the two of them relaxed in the living room. Lyra lay comfortably on the sofa while Pearl sat at the edge beside her.

Dinner was spread out in front of them.

"It feels just like our college days. Only Eve and Hazel are missing," Pearl said, remembering their old days together.

"Yeah, we should’ve invited them too," Lyra chuckled, agreeing with Pearl.

"So, how are you now, Lyra?"

Her voice was laced with concern before turning furious.

"That bastard dumped you—how dare he. I was so worried when I heard the news."

Pearl had never been a fan of Lucas, ever since he and Lyra started dating.

"Hey, sorry, you’ve got it wrong. I dumped him," Lyra said as she got up from the sofa and joined Pearl at the table.

Pearl’s eyes lit up when she heard that Lyra had dumped Lucas, but her mouth was too full to speak.

She chewed quickly and took a gulp of water. But then she felt something wrong about Lyra’s statement.

"Seriously? You were crazy in love with him, so blinded you couldn’t even tell right from wrong. And now you’re the one who dumped him? Is that true?"

"It’s true." Lyra lifted a fry and pointed it at her.

Pearl’s mouth fell open in disbelief, and Lyra quickly stuffed a small bun into her mouth.

And she burst into a small laugh as Pearl started chewing it. Slowly her eyes blinking several times as the truth sank in.

"And how did your grandmother react? She actually let you come here. She’s super strict with you," Pearl said, her voice dropping at the end like she was gossiping.

"Um..."

Lyra hesitated, fingers tightening around her drink as she searched for the right way to say it.

How to admit that after Lucas, she had married someone else.

"I guess Northvale is really far away. News about Rowan Pierce probably never reached here," Lyra said and Pearl looked puzzled.

"Huh? What does that have to do with it? Your grandmother and that man?"

Lyra sighed and picked up a stick of fried sweet potato, chewing on it.

"That’s the thing. I don’t live with my grandmother anymore."

She picked up another piece and kept chewing. Lyra was taking too long to explain, and Pearl finally shook her.

"Why are you dragging this out? You’re killing me with the suspense. How did your grandmother let you move out of the Hale estate? Did she have some weird dream and change overnight or what?"