The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 289

Lyra's manicured fingers froze over the magazine page.

The House of Bourbon-Montpensier.

They were one of the oldest royal bloodlines in France. Sure, the monarchy was dead, but their grip on global high society was absolute. If she could somehow leverage this performance to infiltrate their inner circle...

"Lyra?" the director pressed nervously when she didn't respond. "Are you still there?"

"I'm here," Lyra snapped out of her greedy trance. "Director, you know I'm pregnant right now, my body isn't—"

"I know you're pregnant!" he cut her off desperately. "But you're barely two months along, it's absolutely fine! You danced all the way up to your seventh month when you were pregnant with Leo! You are our prima ballerina, Lyra! I literally cannot do this without you!"

Lyra fell completely silent.

She remembered her first pregnancy with Leo. It was true—she had danced until she was seven months pregnant. Back then, she was a desperate, starving artist who needed the money, the fame, and any scrap of leverage she could sink her claws into.

And now?

She was weeks away from officially becoming a Lancaster. Did she really need to risk a miscarriage for a single ballet performance?

But then she remembered how brutally Christian had discarded Evelyn after three long years of marriage.

Her grip on her phone slowly tightened into a vice.

"Director," she finally murmured. "Tell me exactly what this showcase entails."

The director seized the opening, practically frothing at the mouth. "Okay, so the Duchess of Bourbon is hosting an ultra-exclusive private viewing next Friday at the Opera House. It's an invitation-only event for European billionaires and old money. She explicitly demanded you to play Giselle! She watched your old tapes and said she's absolutely obsessed with your technique!"

He paused to catch his breath, his voice hitting a fever pitch. "Lyra, this is the opportunity of a lifetime! If you can use this to get in with the Duchess and break into their social clique, your future is set in stone! And better yet..."

He lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "Given the sheer amount of wealth and power that will be in that room, if you bring Christian with you as your plus-one and introduce him to these people, it would be a monumental victory for his corporate empire! You can't put a price tag on Bourbon connections!"

Lyra's heart skipped a heavy, violent beat.

Bring Christian with her.

Introduce him to European royalty.

Give his company a massive financial advantage.

She thought about how violently cold and distant Christian had been acting lately. She was losing her grip on him. She needed to do something drastic to remind him exactly how valuable she was.

She needed to be more than just an incubator for his heir.

She needed to prove her worth as a woman.

"Director," she finally declared. "I'll do the performance."

"Oh, thank God!" The director actually cheered. "I knew you wouldn't turn this down! I'll confirm the booking immediately! Start training, Lyra, you have to blow them away!"

Lyra hung up the phone and sat rigidly on the edge of her plush mattress for a very long time.

The silence from his end returned, heavy and suffocating.

Lyra's heart leaped into her throat.

She held her breath for a few agonizing seconds until his cold voice finally broke the quiet:

"When is it?"

Lyra's eyes ignited with pure triumph. "Next Friday night! We can fly out on Thursday to get settled. How does that sound?"

"Fine," Christian replied flatly. "I'll have Miles handle the arrangements."

The call ended. Lyra stood perfectly still in the middle of her sprawling closet, clutching her phone as a vicious, satisfied grin split her face.

He agreed.

He was actually taking her to Paris.

She finally had the perfect stage to prove her irrefutable worth to him.

She wasn't just going to be the pathetic trophy wife.

She was going to be the empress who stood as his equal.