She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 54

The relentless grind of daily life and the noise of the big city had slowly diluted the pure, profound bond they once shared.

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt for the accusatory, suspicious attitude she had shown him when they first reunited.

Shera looked at the man in front of her, her voice softening. "Rhys, how have you been all these years?"

The knife in Rhys's hand jerked, nearly slipping as he peeled the fruit. He didn't look up. Shera could see his eyelids twitching slightly, but she had no idea what was running through his mind.

"You must have done well. At least better than when you were with the Jewell family. You received an elite education and became someone powerful."

"Shera."

Rhys looked up, his gaze meeting hers. "The past doesn't matter. I just know that right now, I'm doing great."

Because she was here, everything was great.

A nurse walked in to check on her IV, interrupting the heavy atmosphere in the room.

After removing the needle, the nurse suggested she stay until the evening, just in case her fever spiked again later that afternoon.

"By the way, about Felipa Pembroke—are you still planning to head to Regency City after the competition?"

Rhys handed the neatly peeled pear to Shera.

She nodded. "I want to give it a shot. It'll be a good chance to clear my head, too."

He asked, almost casually, "That night... were you with Caden?"

Caden?

Shera looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Rhys explained, "The third day after you asked me to look into things, I tried calling you that night. Caden answered the phone."

"Saturday night?"

"Yes. I was calling to let you know she was in Regency City."

So, the person she saw when she left the bar that night really was Caden.

He spoke again, as if trying to confirm a suspicion. "It was already the middle of the night. I figured you were asleep, so I didn't ask him to put you on the phone."

After a brief moment of shock, Shera forced a smile. "Yara took me out drinking that night. I guess I had a little too much, and he just happened to run into me."

After their last explosive argument, she had blocked his number and messaging apps entirely.

Out of sight, out of mind.

When Aiken received the text, Caden was sitting across from his father, his expression thunderous.

Dewitt Hayes had already caught wind of Shera's father passing away and was in the middle of tearing Caden apart for it.

The relationship between father and son had been poisoned for years over what happened to Caden's mother. Yet, as Dewitt chewed him out this time, Caden felt absolutely no urge to argue back.

Aiken stood off to the side, gripping his phone as if it were a live grenade.

Given the suffocating tension in the room, it was painfully obvious this was the worst possible time to deliver a message.

Dewitt sat in his armchair, rubbing the head of his black wooden cane. "At the end of the day, you are entirely responsible for this mess. Figure out a way to make it right."

Caden's eyes were dark and fathomless. He said nothing.

Dewitt pressed on, "Use your head for once. You refused to speak to me for years because of what happened to your mother. Put yourself in her shoes—how do you expect her to forgive you?"