Page 68 of Bound By Crimson
In the mirror, the woman staring back looked polished, elegant, powerful.
But she felt like a stranger.
I’ve lost who I am. Or maybe I never really knew.
The soft click of the front door broke her thoughts.
“Lyric?”
Kai’s voice carried across the penthouse.
Late again.
Usually, she would have run to meet him.
Tonight, she stayed rooted by the mirror.
Moments later, Kai appeared in the doorway. His jacket was draped over one arm, shirt sleeves rolled back to his forearms, hair tousled from the wind.
His brow furrowed the moment he saw her.
“You didn’t meet me at the door.”
“I’ve been thinking,” she said quietly.
“About what?”
He crossed the room, setting his jacket aside. His gaze flicked to the locket at her throat, then back to her eyes.
“I love you, Kai,” Lyric began, “but I’ve been feeling... lost.”
She gestured around them—the sleek marble floors, the velvet drapes, the towering windows that revealed a glittering skyline.
“This is all beautiful. But none of it feels like mine. I’m Kai Thorn’s partner. That’s who everyone sees. That’s all they see.”
Kai’s jaw tightened slightly.
“They see someone extraordinary. And they should.”
“But it’s not enough.”
She picked up her sketchbook from the counter where she’d left it the night before.
Drawings filled the pages—elegant silhouettes, swirls of fabric, ideas that had once only existed in her imagination.
“This is all I have left of who I used to be. I’ve always sketched. But I don’t know how to sew. I don’t know how to make any of this real.”
Kai took the sketchbook from her hands and flipped through the pages slowly.
His eyes softened with something between admiration and surprise.
“These are incredible, Lyric.”
“They’re just drawings,” she whispered.
“No.”
He closed the book carefully.
