She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 187

Ever since Arthur's passing, Delilah Fairchild had been drowning in depression.

Lyra was overwhelmed with the company, but thankfully, Marcus Ward had stayed at the estate, doing his best to keep his sister's spirits up.

A week later, Delilah showed slight improvement. Lyra was at the office when her phone buzzed with a call from Marcus.

She knew her uncle had been in Seaborne City for a while, staying to help them weather the worst of the storm. Now that the dust was somewhat settling, it was time for him to head home.

Marcus was already at the airport. Even as he waited to board, he couldn't shake his worry for his niece.

"Lyra, keep a close eye on your mom, and don't push yourself to the breaking point. If you need anything... call me."

"I will. Thank you," Lyra promised.

"And before I go, I want to give you a piece of advice. It's about Jasmine Ford..."

Lyra's eyes flicked up in surprise.

A client was sitting across the desk, waiting for her to finish. Lyra lowered her voice. "Go ahead, Uncle Marcus."

The background noise on his end was chaotic, the airport boarding announcements echoing loudly, but Lyra caught the gist of his warning.

"I understand," she murmured. "I'll keep that in mind. Have a safe flight."

Ending the call, Lyra offered an apologetic smile to the man sitting across from her. "Mr. Lawson, moving forward, we will require a fifty percent deposit, with the remaining balance paid upfront upon delivery. Will that be acceptable?"

Mr. Lawson froze. His expression instantly darkened, his tone dripping with disbelief. "Miss Fairchild, is this a joke?"

"I'm completely serious," Lyra replied evenly.

"Fifty percent? That's absurdly high. You expect me to hand over half the cash before I've even seen the product? If that's the case, why wouldn't I just take my business to the Ford Group?"

"Because, to my knowledge, the Ford Group also requires a fifty percent deposit."

"I'm not trying to sever relationships. I just want to secure our cash flow—"

"Dad just passed away. I don't want to fight with you," Caleb interrupted, his tone exasperated but gentle. "They trust us, and we trust them. That's how it works."

Caleb was too soft-hearted. He never anticipated malice and lacked any real sense of crisis.

A heavy sense of foreboding washed over Lyra. If he kept running things like this, how would this life end up any different from the last?

Later that evening, Lyra returned to the estate. After checking in on her mother, she stepped out into the courtyard and sank onto a stone bench.

Liam approached her quietly. His head was bowed, his voice thick with tears as he began to apologize.

The day her father died, Lyra had explicitly told Liam to accompany Arthur to the hospital. But Arthur had waved him off, claiming he had a last-minute errand, and Liam hadn't dared to insist. Now, the young man's eyes were red, utterly consumed by guilt.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Fairchild... I'm useless. If I had just forced my way into the car with him, he wouldn't have..."