When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 1004

"I know. I'll go talk to her."

Rowan stepped out to follow Lemira's path.

Outside, the garden was bleak. The trees had lost their leaves, and only a few flowers clung to life.

Lemira stood in the open, letting the biting wind clear her head.

"Aren't you cold out here in just that?"

Rowan's voice drifted to her ear just as the heavy weight of a jacket settled over her shoulders.

Lemira turned her head, instinctively rejecting the gesture. "I'm not cold."

"There's a kind of cold where your brother thinks you're cold."

Rowan's hands rested lightly on her shoulders, his gaze overwhelmingly gentle.

Lemira couldn't handle this version of Rowan. She stepped back sharply, shrugging off his coat.

Rowan sighed, his expression pained. "Are you still hating me, Lemira?"

Her pupils constricted. What did he mean by that?

According to the timeline of this life, there was no bad blood between them. The operating table nightmare hadn't happened yet.

Lemira's eyes narrowed as she tested the waters. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rowan let out a bitter laugh. "I mean, I've been buried in my research all these years. I never checked in on you. I had no idea you were suffering so much. If I had just paid a little more attention, I wouldn't have let Asher and the others favor Evelina over you."

Lemira lowered her eyelashes. So that was it.

What a joke. If he had come back earlier in her past life, things would have played out exactly the same.

Her hand instinctively brushed against her lower back. If she hadn't changed her fate, she would be missing an organ and carrying a massive scar right there.

Staring out at the pitch-black silhouettes of the trees, she replied flatly, "Even if you had come back earlier, it wouldn't have changed anything."

She had survived entirely on her own strength, not because her brothers had suddenly developed a conscience.

Lemira spoke coldly. "What did you expect? Did you really think I could just bounce back from all the trauma and play happy family with you guys?"

She turned to walk away.

Rowan rushed after her. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I won't bring up the past anymore. We should look forward, not backward."

Lemira headed straight for her standard SUV.

Rowan followed closely. "Tell me what you need me to do. I won't be in Lyria for long, so let me know soon so I can make the arrangements."

Lemira paused, her hand resting on the car door, struck by hesitation.

Should she ask him?

More importantly, could she trust him?