She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

“I didn’t sleep well. Kept having dreams,” Rowan replied, his fatigue evident from the moment he woke

Jasmine let out a hidden breath of relief. As long as he wasn’t stressed about Lyra, she was fine.

“What kind of dreams?” Waylon asked abruptly.

Rowan rubbed his temples again. The recurring nightmare was undeniably grating. “I was sitting in a room boxed in by walls. That’s all I remember.”

As the secretary came in to refill their waters, Waylon’s grip on his glass tightened.

For some inexplicable reason, Rowan’s mind flashed to the image of Lyra weeping at her father’s feet.

“I actually studied dream interpretation. Maybe I can help,” Jasmine chimed in. She slipped behind his chair, resting her hands against his temples and massaging them with a delicate, soothing touch.

Rowan offered a faint smile and gently pulled her hands away. “I know you’re full of talents…”

“Get a room, you two. I can’t watch this,” Lucas teased, shielding his eyes playfully.

Waylon managed a tight smile, glancing at them before quickly averting his gaze.

Back at the Fairchild estate, Arthur and Delilah had spent the entire day putting out fires across the

city.

Arthur was still out handling business when Delilah returned that evening, looking completely

drained.

“Mom, where’s Dad?” Lyra asked. “Did Uncle give you a hard time?”

Delilah simply shook her head.

Lyra immediately understood.

Her grandparents had passed away years ago, leaving her with one uncle who had been divorced twice and married three times. He was notorious for shoehorning his buddies into Fairchild Holdings. Delilah had enabled it, too soft to say no, scattering his useless friends across various departments until the payroll was bloated with freeloaders.

The Fairchilds were finally paying the price for their own leniency.

“I let them think they were untouchable. Lyra… go get some rest.”

Lyra gave her mother’s hand a squeeze. “You get some sleep too, Mom.” She quietly retreated to her bedroom and fired up her laptop.

A little while later, right before heading to bed, Delilah peeked into Lyra’s room. She found her daughter fiercely focused on the screen.

It puzzled her. The old Lyra would never be doing this.

At this hour, she usually would be glued to her phone, laughing loudly at mindless videos.

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Chapter 54

As Delilah pushed the door open to see what she was working on, Snowy seized the opportunity to dart inside.

“Snowy,” Delilah chided, chasing the dog in. She scooped up the fluffy pup and stroked its fur. “Look how hard your sister is working. I feel like I’ve gotten a brand-new daughter, and you’ve gotten a brand-new sister.”

Snowy gave two sharp barks in Lyra’s direction.

The pup wriggled out of Delilah’s arms and trotted over, licking Lyra’s ankle.

Lyra gently nudged the dog away with her foot.

Snowy was notoriously clingy. As Lyra stood up and took a few steps, the little dog scurried right after

her.

In the past, Lyra would have instantly crouched down to smother the dog with affection.

Now, she barely even looked at it.

Delilah picked the dog back up. “I guess your sister doesn’t love you anymore.”

She was only joking, assuming Lyra was just overwhelmed with work.

She poured the dog some food and didn’t give the interaction another thought.

Lyra shut her laptop, walked out to the hallway, and offered her mother a faint smile.

“Mom, I feel bad that Snowy is always so bored. Why don’t we find a nice family to adopt him?”

Delilah frowned, visibly disagreeing. “Our estate is massive. We can afford to feed a tiny dog. He’d be terrified if we shipped him off to strangers.”

“Lyra, what has gotten into you?” Delilah picked up on the sudden shift. “You don’t even like Snowy anymore? You used to cuddle him all the time and never cared about the mess…”

A realization dawned on her. “Wait, is this because Jasmine helped you pick him out at the pet store? Is that why you’re suddenly so cold to him?”

Lyra’s expression blanked for a fleeting second. “No, it’s not that.”

The truth was much darker. When Lyra died in her past life, Kayla had gone missing, and the only living thing left in the desolate Fairchild estate was that little dog. The only reason it survived was because Jasmine had harbored a shred of lingering affection for it and took it in.

It was a sick joke. In the end, the Fairchild family had suffered a fate worse than a stray mutt.

Jasmine had been viciously merciless to Lyra, yet somehow found it in her heart to save a dog.

As Delilah stepped closer with Snowy in her arms, Lyra forced herself to give its head a perfunctory pat.

She didn’t hate the dog. She was just deeply, viscerally unsettled by the memories attached to it.