From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 122

Caught completely off guard, she plummeted toward the ground.

In that split second, a dark silhouette rapidly expanded in her terrified vision.

She squeezed her eyes shut in fear, but the pain never came. Instead, she collided with a firm yet warm presence. Opening her eyes, she was met with Xavier's deep, predatory gaze, as magnetic and pulling as a calm, dangerous ocean.

She instinctively curled against him, tears spilling onto his crisp shirt, her muffled sobs swallowed by the warmth of his embrace.

She quietly fell apart in his arms.

The heavy, steady rise and fall of his chest filled her senses, soothing the ringing in her ears.

"What's going on?"

"Did she fall?"

"Help her up, that looked like a nasty spill."

The concerned murmurs of passersby snapped her back to reality. Xavier pulled her to her feet, and the moment she found her balance, he withdrew his hands.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ford."

"I..."

Xavier spared her a single glance, his eyes as blank and distant as if she were a total stranger, before he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

She remembered his obvious discomfort after catching her, and the slight unsteadiness in his steps.

She suddenly spun around, wanting to check on him.

But a crowd of people was already gathering around his tall, imposing figure.

Assistants, bodyguards...

He clearly didn't need her concern.

Lydia averted her gaze, staring helplessly at the bustling arrivals hall. She moved forward in a daze.

Every path felt completely blocked off.

The memory of Frederick leaving her for dead—and the realization that she still had to play the part of a loving wife—sent a suffocating wave of despair and agony crashing over her.

Would any out-of-state lawyer even dare take her case?

"Lydia?"

Suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder. A familiar face drifted into her blurred vision.

"Joanna!" Lydia threw herself into Joanna Quinn's arms, clinging tightly to her neck.

"I just came from over there and saw the Foster family guards looking for you. What's wrong?" Joanna asked, her voice laced with panic. "Did someone hurt you? I'll call Charles right now."

"No!" She grabbed Joanna's hand. "Joanna! Are you heading to South Africa for work? Can I please just go with you?"

"Didn't you just start your new job? You can't just skip work, can you?"

"Besides, aren't you moving abroad in fifteen days anyway?"

"Right, moving abroad!"

"If I can't divorce him, I can at least escape."

She gripped Joanna's hand so hard that the other woman winced. Realizing she was hurting her friend, Lydia hastily let go. "I'm sorry."

The moment she pulled away, Joanna enveloped her in a tight hug.

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