The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 30

"That is enough!" Victor slammed his hand onto the table so hard the teacups rattled violently. "Go straight to your room!"

Lydia rolled her eyes and reluctantly pushed herself up from the couch. Before turning away, she shot Lyra a glaring look completely saturated with jealousy and deep resentment.

Once the sound of Lydia's footsteps completely vanished upstairs, a heavy silence settled over the living room.

Victor rubbed his throbbing temples and slumped back into his seat. "Lyra, Lydia's words were incredibly harsh, but she's not entirely wrong. What exactly is Christian's stance on all this?"

Lyra remained silent for several agonizing seconds. She took a slow, deliberate sip of tea before finally answering, "He promised me he would take responsibility, but..."

"But what?"

"But I can feel it. Right now, he doesn't want a divorce," Lyra admitted.

Martha reached out in a panic, desperately clutching her daughter's hand. "Lyra, after these three long years... could Christian actually have fallen in love with Evelyn?"

"Impossible," Lyra stated, her voice razor-sharp and absolutely unyielding. "Mom, don't panic. Christian has always loved me. He just... feels extremely guilty right now. Evelyn hasn't put a single foot out of line during her time with the Lancasters. Blindsiding her with a divorce hurts his pride and ruins his public image."

"Then what's your plan?" Victor demanded.

"We wait," Lyra said coolly. "We wait for the public outrage to boil over. We wait for Penelope to crush him with pressure. We wait until Christian is backed into a corner and forced to make a choice."

"And what if he chooses Evelyn?" Martha practically chewed her fingernails off with anxiety.

Lyra let out a soft laugh, her signature supreme confidence radiating from every pore. "He won't. Mom, Dad, did you forget? I made Christian fall obsessively in love with me once, and I can easily do it again. Besides, now I have Leo. He is my ultimate trump card."

She leaned in, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Arthur is on his deathbed, and the Lancaster family treats their reputation like religion. Right now, the media is entirely focused on the tragic narrative of me—the true love—being chased out of the country by Evelyn, suffering alone in exile while raising the Lancaster heir. Under this kind of massive social pressure, if the Lancasters refuse to give me my rightful title, the public will rip them to shreds."

Victor nodded slowly, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "That's true. They care about their face above all else."

"Exactly," Lyra concluded. "So all we have to do is wait. Wait for the pressure to break them. Wait until Christian literally has no choice but to divorce her."

Martha finally let out a long sigh of relief, patting her daughter's hand gently. "Lyra, my heart just breaks for you. Surviving all alone in a foreign country for three whole years..."

"Mom, that's all in the past now." Lyra squeezed her mother's hand, her voice perfectly sweet. "The only thing that matters right now is making sure I become his wife. Once I'm a Lancaster, our entire family's status will skyrocket. When that happens, we can give Lydia anything she could ever dream of."

At the mention of her youngest daughter, Martha's expression twisted into a knot of deep conflict. "Lydia... is getting completely out of control. Lyra, please don't take her venom to heart."

"I won't," Lyra smiled gently. "She's my sister, I wouldn't hold it against her."

She said the words flawlessly, but deep down, she knew the cold, hard truth—she had to keep an incredibly close watch on her sister.

Especially when it came to Christian.

Upstairs, Lydia hadn't gone into her room. Instead, she was pressed completely flat against the wall at the turn of the staircase, holding her breath as she eavesdropped on every single word spoken below.

When she heard Lyra declare she was going to become Christian's wife, a twisted, mocking sneer curled across Lydia's face.

Become his wife?

On what grounds?

Just because of some shady, bastard kid?

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