Page 69 of Bound By Crimson
“You don’t need to learn how to sew. I can hire the best seamstresses. You choose the fabrics and the designs. They’ll bring them to life.”
Lyric smiled sadly.
“And then what? I just have a closet full of dresses?”
Kai blinked, caught off guard by her response.
“That’s not what I want,” she continued. “I want something that’s mine. A purpose. A reason to get out of bed every morning. I thought... maybe designing could be that.”
For the first time, Kai didn’t immediately offer a solution.
He stepped back, thinking.
Then— “What if I got you a boutique?”
Lyric froze.
“A boutique?”
“A real one.” His voice gained confidence as the idea formed. “A place to sell your designs. Not just wear them. I can have a team handle the production, the business side. You’ll create. That’s all you’ll need to do.”
Her heart raced.
“You would really do that?”
“I told you before,” Kai said, cupping her face in his hands, “I can make anything happen in this city. Give me a day. I’ll figure it out.”
Lyric exhaled, the weight she’d carried for weeks lifting slightly.
“Thank you.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face to his chest.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Kai murmured against her hair. “I’ll give you anything you want.”
His arms tightened around her.
And in that moment, Lyric felt hope blooming where there had only been emptiness.
She didn’t realize—
He wasn’t just giving her purpose.
He was giving her another reason not to leave.
---
The next morning.
She woke up alone.Again.
Sunlight spilled across the marble floors, casting soft golden streaks through the towering windows.
But instead of warmth, it brought a sterile chill. Too perfect. Too still.
The sheets beside her were cool.
Kai had already left, like he always did—but not without a kiss.
