Page 91 of Bound By Crimson
Rowan kissed her cheek. “Text me the second you need anything. I mean it.”
“I will.”
Rowan gave her one last squeeze and headed back toward the main path.
---
Lyric stood alone for a moment longer, holding her locket, letting the quiet of the park steady her.
She could do this. She would do this.
But first—She had to tell Kai.
And she had no idea how he’d take it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Leap
The city never slowed down.
Even when she did.
Lyric stood in the middle of her boutique, surrounded by movement—staff coming and going, Kat chattering with a customer, the soft hum of indie music mixed with the occasional ding of the register. It was everything she had worked for. Everything she had dreamed of.
And yet, she was tired.
Not just physically—though her back ached and her feet throbbed—but somewhere deeper. A kind of tired that lived in her bones and sat behind her eyes like a fog she couldn’t quite blink away.
She smiled, nodded, answered questions, signed invoices. But her mind kept slipping to Kai. Or more accurately—the absence of him.
When she got home last night to tell him the news, she’d accidentally fallen asleep waiting for him. He hadn’t woken her.
And he’d left early again this morning. Earlier than usual. A soft kiss on her forehead and the faint scent of his cologne were all that lingered. He always said he had early meetings, deadlines, projects.
And she missed him.
She couldn’t remember the last time they’d had breakfast together. Or even a lazy afternoon curled up on the couch.
Even intimacy had become rushed. Quiet. A half-hearted grasp at closeness neither of them had time to feel.
Their time had become fragments. Pieces. A kiss here. A shared glance there. Promises whispered in passing.
Even when he was home, he wasn’t. His phone buzzed constantly. He paced the bedroom with calls at midnight. Always apologizing. Always assuring her it would slow down soon.
But it never did.
She closed the boutique an hour early that day—something she never did—and took a cab home, watching the lights of Manhattan blur through the glass. Her hand came to rest on her stomach, without thinking. The baby hadn’t changed much physically yet, but something inside her had. Emotionally, she already felt different.
More protective.
More unsure.
More hopeful.
---
The penthouse was quiet when she entered. Kai wouldn’t be home for another hour. She slipped off her shoes and stood by the window, looking out at the glittering skyline. She loved this city. She was proud of what she’d built here.
