Page 179 of Bound By Crimson
“You will not use that kind of language in my house,” she said crisply. “Learn some respect.”
Lyric didn’t even blink.
“My phone,” she snapped. “Where is it?”
Mrs. Thornwick sipped her tea slowly, like she was savoring the moment. Then she set the cup down with a delicate clink.
“You’ve been very emotional lately,” she said evenly. “We must be careful about what influences you’re exposed to in your condition.”
Lyric’s vision blurred with fury.
“You hadno right!” she shouted.
Mrs. Thornwick smiled again, thin and sharp.
“Everything I do is for your own good, dear. One day, you’ll see that.”
Lyric’s entire body trembled.
Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed out, her footsteps slamming the floor like gunfire.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Same Name, Same Man
She didn’t head for her room.
Not this time.
As she passed the double doors of the study, something in her snapped.
She stopped.
Her hand trembled on the doorknob.
No more lies.
No more bending herself into something they’d accept.
She was done being quiet. Done keeping the peace.
They never wanted her—they wanted control.
And she was done being controlled.
With a sharp breath, she twisted the knob and shoved the door open hard—not with grace, but with force, the kind that comes from the breaking point.
The door banged against the wall.
She didn’t know what she was looking for.
Maybe her cell phone.
Maybe a lifeline.
Maybe a way out.
The study smelled like old paper and varnish.
