CHAPTER 81: HUSBAND AND WIFE QUARREL

Lyra stood straight, her arms crossed as she stared at the familiar car pulling into the front drop-off area of the Arlington building.

A sharp crease formed between her brows when Damian climbed out of the driver seat with guilt written all over his face.

He had lied to her last night, saying Rowan would be coming home. But Rowan never came back.

"Go back to your boss. I can walk myself," Lyra said coldly to Damian.

He hesitated.

If his boss found out he had not sent madam to work, he was as good as dead.

He should have faked a stomachache earlier and let Kane handle this disaster instead.

Lyra strode off along the sidewalk toward work, ignoring Damian, who called after her several times.

Defeated, he returned to the car and drove slowly, following from behind while keeping a careful distance.

Onlookers glanced his way with suspicion, as if he were some pervert trailing a woman on the sidewalk.

Lyra intentionally cut through a series of walkways and narrow paths where cars could not follow, making her way toward the hospital.

When she finally arrived, she was breathless.

She slumped into her chair, and Lewis knocked on the half-open door a moment later.

"Come on, let’s get this day started," he said, raising his watch to show her it was time to start work.

"Okay." She lazily picked her stethoscope from the drawer.

Suddenly, Lyra stretched her arms upward and screamed loudly.

Lewis jumped, a hand flying to his chest on instinct.

Relieved, she shot up from her seat and headed for the door, leaving Lewis staring at her with wide eyes.

"What’s gotten into you?"

He pointed at her from head to toe and then back up again as she walked past him.

He pulled the door closed and followed.

"You’re the one who taught me that scream, remember? A quick stress release."

She smiled.

"Yeah, but you didn’t have to scream without warning in front of an old man. You might lose your psychiatrist at this rate. Good thing the door shielded me earlier."

Lewis slowed his steps, wondering what was wrong with this girl.

They arrived at Ivy’s room soon after that and ran the routine check-up. She had been stable since yesterday and continued to do well today, so they decided to discharge her by noon.

Both of them went off to finish their reports now that the case was closed, and handed them to the nurse for the discharge process.

Before they parted ways, Lewis called out to her.

"Well... it’s going to be hard seeing you around after this."

"Don’t say that. You’re making me sad. Perhaps we can request a case that requires us partners again," Lyra said with a big smile.

They exchanged a few more words and headed off.

Lyra returned to the mother-and-child unit. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of all the babies resting in their mothers’ arms as they waited for their turn to see the doctor.

It lifted her mood, helping her set aside her annoyance about Rowan.

At the end of her shift, she made her way to Alex’s office building to avoid crossing paths with Damian or Kane.

He was a little surprised that Lyra planned to stay at his place that night, but he didn’t say anything.

That night, while she was sound asleep, the tip of her ear twitched.

Someone was ringing the bell at such a late hour. She blinked awake when she heard a voice coming from the front door.

She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

When she opened the bedroom door, the front door was already shut, and Alex was halfway up the stairs.

"Who was that?" she asked with a sleepy yawn.

"Rowan," Alex said, frowning.

"I thought you told him you were staying here tonight?"

Hearing that he came by late at night and then left like that made her wonder if testing her patience had become his hobby.

"How was I supposed to tell him when he’s been ignoring me?" she muttered, irritation slipping into her voice.

Alex sighed and gave her shoulder a gentle pat. "Never mind. Just go home tomorrow, alright? It’s not good to stay upset for too long."

Lyra pouted. She didn’t want to go back to that house. Every time Rowan withdrew into one of his moods, she felt like a stranger there.

She guessed he was upset because she had gotten a ride from Owen, though Lyra still wondered how he had even found out.

Was she really expected to ask for permission just to be friends with someone?

The next day, when her shift ended, Lyra waited for whoever Rowan had sent to pick her up. It was because of her father’s insistence.

She stood at the usual spot until a familiar black luxury car glided in and came to a slow stop in front of her.

To her surprise, when she opened the door, Rowan sat behind the wheel, his brows knitted as if the word angry were written across his face.

He didn’t utter a word to greet her when she climbed inside the car.

"Seriously?" Lyra breathed, the word slipping out before she could stop it. Heat simmered in her chest.

For the entire ride, she kept her arms crossed and her gaze fixed on the window, refusing to give him even a single glance.

The air in the car felt tense.

Soon, when they arrived, Lyra felt a bit relieved that Rowan had followed her all the way home. Because if he hadn’t, this chase would never have ended.

"Childish," she muttered under her breath. Lyra was about to drag him to the sofa when his large hand gently caught hers, guiding her there.

They ended up opposite each other.

She resting her hands in her lap as she waited for Rowan to speak first, since he was the one who had been sulking.

"Anything to say?"

Lyra asked at last, after Rowan had stayed silent for too long.

If he still refused to speak, their eyes would probably start a sword fight next.

"About Owen..."

Rowan paused, but Lyra lifted her hand slightly. She already guessed it had to be about Owen.

"Do you still have feelings for him? Is that why you met him?"

Lyra’s brows knit together as she narrowed her eyes.

"What makes you think that?"

She wondered where Rowan had learned about it, which led him to get the wrong idea.