She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 68

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Shera slid into the driver's seat and clicked her seatbelt into place. She exhaled a long, heavy breath, feeling as though she had just shrugged off a crushing weight she had carried for years.

Everything had gone much smoother than she had anticipated.

She looked at herself in the rearview mirror. She looked thinner, with dark circles under her eyes, appearing thoroughly drained. Yet, her eyes were no longer the dull, lifeless shades they used to be.

She was no longer Mrs. Hayes. She was Shera Jewell again—the Shera who could do whatever the hell she wanted without worrying about breaking some archaic rule or embarrassing high society.

Her phone rang. It was Xenia Denton.

"Hey Shera! How did everything go today?"

Shera pushed the ignition button and pulled the car around. "Everything went perfectly. It's already completely done."

"Really? Caden was actually that straightforward?"

Shera laughed. "Why wouldn't he be? He's the heir to the Hayes Group. It's not like he's going to struggle to find a replacement."

"Fair point." A rustling sound echoed through the speaker.

Shera frowned. "What are you doing?"

Xenia pinched the phone between her ear and shoulder while tossing cosmetics into a bag. "Packing, obviously. I'll be back in a few days."

"Really?" Shera's eyes instantly lit up. Her absolute best friend was finally coming home. The world felt a little brighter.

She and Xenia had been classmates since middle school, back when Shera first transferred from the North to live with her grandfather. They had been seated next to each other, hit it off immediately, and became inseparable. It was through Shera that Xenia had eventually met Rhys Jewell.

At first, Xenia had thought Rhys was Shera's biological brother, only finding out later that he was adopted.

Right after their final exams, they had gone camping at Mount Lyrion and unfortunately bumped into a group of delinquents from a neighboring vocational school. The ringleader had relentlessly pursued Shera in the past, even pulling a massive public stunt at the school gates. Rhys had fiercely warned him off, which left the guy holding a serious grudge.

Since it was right after finals, the campsite was packed with kids their age. Maybe the guy had too much to drink, or maybe he just wanted to look tough in front of his crew, but he started hurling vulgar insults at Shera. Rhys, who was coming back from fetching water, heard the whole thing and absolutely beat the guy to a pulp.

The punk was beaten so badly that the police got involved. His mother threw a massive tantrum at the station, demanding compensation. Desperate to keep her dad from finding out, Shera had emptied her own savings, paying them two thousand bucks just to make the problem go away.

Lenny still found out eventually. Even though he knew the other guy was in the wrong, he tore into Rhys for being reckless and impulsive. It was the first time Lenny had ever shown Rhys genuine fury.

But they all knew Lenny wasn't just yelling to be mean. He was terrified that Rhys would throw his entire future away just to protect Shera.

Shera had been terrified the guy would come back for revenge. But strangely enough, she never saw him again. According to rumors from his friends, he had dropped out entirely.

Shera tossed her purse onto the sofa and dramatically collapsed into the cushions, looking utterly relaxed.

"He's definitely much more grounded now than he was back then," Shera admitted. "His family must have trained him well. Honestly, I can barely see any trace of the boy he used to be."