Page 162 of Bound By Crimson
Only the distant tick of the clock filled the silence.
Lyric lay curled on her side, one hand resting protectively over her stomach, the other gripping the leather-bound journal like it might vanish if she loosened her fingers.
Her body ached.
Her mind reeled.
The wallpaper. The attic. The photo. The name—Eden.
None of it made sense.
And yet, all of it felt like a key sliding into a lock somewhere deep inside her.
The woman in the photo could’ve been her twin. Lyric looked again at the writing on the back— Eden 21, Malachai 10.
Kai was only ten in that photo. Those eyes were unmistakably his.
Eden was twenty-one.
Which meant now, she’d be in her forties.
There was no way she could be Lyric’s twin.
And yet, the resemblance was… impossible to ignore.
Lyric recalled a conversation with Kai when they first met, about Kai saying she looked like someone he once loved.
She stared at the journal in her hands again, heart pounding harder than before, and opened it to the last pages.
Something told her to start there.
The ink was darker here, almost heavy, like each word had been pressed into the paper with purpose.
Like it wasn’t just written—it was meant to be found.
She began to read.
I’m so ashamed of what this family believes. Of what they still do. Of what they expect.
Keeping the bloodline pure—that’s how she says it. Like we’re breeding show dogs. A stain on the blood. I hate it. I hate that I ever believed in it.
Lyric’s chest tightened.
I don’t want that for my daughter. I won’t let that be her life.
I won’t let her grow up behind locked doors, raised on secrets and superstition.
I won’t let her be groomed to become the next obedient Thornwick wife.
She deserves freedom.
The words blurred for a second.
Her eyes burned.
She blinked quickly, forcing herself to keep going.
I hate myself for who I got pregnant by.
