She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 142

When Lyra finally hung up, Caleb raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be getting a lot of international calls lately."

"Just checking in with some friends overseas," Lyra lied smoothly, eager to change the subject. "Are you heading to the office? Mind if I ride with you?"

Caleb still had plenty of work to catch up on, so they headed to Fairchild Holdings together.

The moment they arrived, Lyra went straight to the R&D department to check on Quentin and York. Their latest project, the Industrial Distributed PLC Real-Time System, had made significant headway with its full-link reconstruction.

...

By the next day, a crisis hit a Jameson Group project up north, forcing Rowan to leave on a sudden business trip to Arden City.

Grandpa Alistair was fully aware of his sudden departure.

Lyra had originally planned to get the conversation over with that day. Since she had agreed to Rowan's terms, there was no point in dragging her feet—fighting him would only backfire.

But with Rowan out of town and her desk overflowing with Fairchild Holdings paperwork, she decided to put it off. Honestly, she wasn't in any rush to make Jasmine's life easier anyway.

Let her sweat it out for another day.

Over at the Ford residence, Jasmine was on the phone with Rowan as he headed to the airport. "Yes, I understand. Have a safe flight."

She ended the call, and the rest of the family quickly learned of Rowan's trip. Tabitha set down her teacup with an elegant, practiced grace. "Work always comes first. This situation can wait."

She paused, a frown marring her perfect makeup.

"But is Lyra really going to play nice?" Tabitha asked. "Do you actually think she'll stick to Rowan's script and cover for you?"

Jasmine bit her lip, looking anxious. "I don't know."

"Well, she certainly wouldn't dare defy him."

Tabitha nodded to herself. "Alistair is the only obstacle left. Once the old man is on your side, Lyra won't have a single leg to stand on."

Thinking about Alistair, Tabitha let out an irritated huff. "Honestly, the man is in his eighties. He's already got one foot in the grave. Why is he making things so difficult for you kids?"

"Mom! Stop it," Jasmine hissed, her brow furrowing in alarm. She knew Rowan worshipped his grandfather. If her mother's reckless words ever made their way back to him...

She had lost his unconditional love before she ever got the chance to appreciate it.

But not this time. She would never let that tragedy repeat itself.

Lyra set the newspaper aside and stepped behind the sofa, gently massaging her father's shoulders.

Arthur patted her hand, assuming she was just moved by his promise.

"I am incredibly proud of how well you're handling things at the company," he said softly. "Caleb and I had a talk. We've decided to pull back some of our external shares and transfer them into your name."

Lyra froze, her hands stalling on his shoulders. "Dad, no. I can't take that."

"You and Caleb are the core heirs to this family. Why shouldn't you? It's not a gift for nothing, sweetheart. I see your potential. I want to tie your future to the company so you'll always fight for it. What, are you saying you don't want to dedicate yourself to Fairchild Holdings?"

She would gladly bleed for the company even without a single share. Her past life had taught her a brutal lesson: her family were the only ones who truly had her back.

"Thank you, Dad," Lyra whispered, her throat tight with emotion as she leaned down and threw her arms around his neck.