The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 276

New York, late into the night.

Lyra Langford drove steadily, having sent Jocelyn home in a cab earlier. The interior of the car was perfectly quiet, filled only with the faint hum of tires rolling over the asphalt. Her hands gripped the steering wheel, her eyes locked on the road ahead, but her mind was endlessly looping the scene from earlier—

Piper Brooks clinging to Christian’s arm, whining his name in that disgustingly sweet tone.

Jocelyn charging forward to scream "little tramp."

The look Christian had given her before he left.

She knew she had overplayed her hand today.

Letting Jocelyn cause a scene, hurl insults, and blow the situation entirely out of proportion—it wasn't her usual style. She was the one who pulled the strings from the shadows; she never dragged herself into a public dogfight.

But the second she saw Piper, she simply couldn't hold it back.

Years of suppressed bitterness had burst out like water from a shattered dam.

—

The light turned red.

Lyra stopped the car and closed her eyes.

The first memory that flashed through her mind was from her sophomore year of college.

She and Christian had just started dating, still in the honeymoon phase. They had made plans to drive out to the country to see the autumn leaves that weekend. She had spent hours getting ready and booked a reservation at a gorgeous restaurant, bubbling with anticipation.

But right before they were supposed to meet, Christian called. "Piper suddenly spiked a fever. My aunt isn't home, so I have to take her to the ER."

She froze. "But we had plans..."

"We'll reschedule," he said, and hung up.

She waited outside her dorm for two hours that day before finally going to the dining hall to eat alone.

Later, she found out Piper hadn't been sick at all. She just didn't want Christian spending the day with Lyra and had made up an excuse on the spot.

The second time was Christian's birthday.

She had started preparing a month in advance. She knitted him a scarf by hand, ordered a custom cake, and planned an elaborate surprise. But on his birthday, Christian told her he had a family dinner and told her not to wait up.

She thought he was telling the truth.

It wasn't until later that she heard through the grapevine that Piper had dragged him to an amusement park, claiming she needed to "make up for her brother's birthday."

The third time was their anniversary.

She booked a quiet little bistro near campus, hoping for a peaceful, intimate dinner. Christian agreed and even rushed through his work to pick her up.

But the moment they sat down, Piper called.

"Christian! I'm at the hospital! You have to come, now!"

The light turned green.

The car behind her honked, snapping Lyra back to reality. She hit the gas.

Another memory aggressively forced its way to the surface.

It was the summer right before Piper left for France.

One day, Lyra received a text from Christian's number:

[Meet me at the scenic overlook upstate tomorrow night. I have a surprise for you.]

She was so ecstatic she didn't sleep a wink that night.

The next day, she dressed flawlessly and drove two hours up the mountain. But she waited until the sun set, until the stars came out, and until her phone died—

Christian never showed up.

She couldn't make a call, and she realized someone had slashed her tires. The cell service at the summit was nonexistent. She was entirely stranded.

Then the rain started.

A biting, freezing autumn downpour.

She huddled in her car, terrified and shivering, curled into a tight ball. Her only thought that night was: *Am I going to die up here?*