Page 125 of Chasing Lyric
I shift a little closer on the sofa, careful not to crowd her, and she doesn’t pull away. That one subtle act, just letting me be near, sends a wave of tension breaking in my chest.
“My dad took from more than one band,” I admit, my voice low but clear. “He bled the company dry behind the scenes. But the second I realized it was him, I knew what would happen if Howie found out. If he exposed my father, there’d be no salvaging any of it. Howie would dismantle Ego Star Promotions, press charges, and everything would come crashing down. My dad would rot in prison. My mom would lose everything. We’d be humiliated. Homeless.”
I glance away for a moment, dragging in a breath thick with regret before forcing myself to meet Lyric’s gaze again. “I couldn’t do that to her… to my mom. So I stepped up and took the hit. I told everyone that the money trail led back to me. Said I’d been the one skimming.”
Her hand flies to her mouth like she’s trying to hold something in. Her breath catches audibly, eyes glossing over with tears she doesn’t even try to hide. The way she looks at me is as if she’s seeing me for the first time, and it twists something profound in my chest. I almost can’t take it.
But I press forward, needing her to know the rest. “The bands never found out. As far as they knew, it was a clerical mistake, an accounting error. Every cent was paid back, down to the last dollar. I covered it myself, ensuring the artists received what they were owed. Even Ego Star Promotions got repaid for what Dad took.”
I pause, because this part stings. “But it didn’t matter. My name was mud. My rep was shot. I became the guy no one trusted, the one who’d betrayed the business. And I never corrected the record. Not even when it nearly cost me everything.”
Lyric blinks slowly, tears slipping down her cheek. Her chest rises in a tight, stuttered breath, but she doesn’t speak. Doesn’t move. Just watches me, and I see the war behind her eyes, what she thought she knew versus the truth now sitting heavy between us.
She narrows her eyes, confusion racing through her. “W-what do you mean?”
Flaring my nostrils at the memory, I exhale slowly, the weight of it pressing down on my chest. “I was charged, and they put me away for five years.” My voice drops. “The first year, I kept to myself. Then I met Rip. We were cellmates for three years. He made the place bearable, a funny bastard, even in hell.” I shake my head, my jaw clenching as the memory of my third cellmate comes crashing in. “After Rip got out, I spent the last year with a guy named Atlas. He was cold, quiet, so fucking calculating and mean in a way that got under your skin. He made Rip look like a ray of sunshine.”
I glance at Lyric. The way she’s gone eerily quiet unsettles me, but I see the tension around her mouth, the emotion flickering in her eyes, so I continue, “Before I went in, I made a promise to myself, to get my old man help. We told my mom everything, and she didn’t hesitate. She helped keep him in line while I was behind bars. We locked down his finances, monitored his devices, put systems in place to ensure he didn’t slip.” I pause, my throat tightening. “We kept the truth buried, held it tight between us. Not to save his pride, but to protect the company…” I take a deep breath. “To make sure everything he risked didn’t burn to the ground.”
Lyric sniffles, brushing away a single tear as it rolls down her cheek. My hands twitch at my sides, the urge to reach for her so fierce it nearly undoes me. I want to pull her into my arms, kiss away the pain, tell her she’s safe with me.
But I don’t.
Because I don’t know if she’ll let me or if touching her now will break whatever fragile thread we still have left.
So, I keep going, laying it all out. “While I was locked up, Howie dropped dead from a massive heart attack. Too much booze, too many wild nights had finally caught up with him. The company passed fully to my father, just like that.”
My jaw tightens as I stare ahead, memories I’ve buried crawling back up my spine. “When I got out, Dad welcomed me back into the business without blinking. No apology. No second thought. Just opened the door like nothing had happened. The company was his now.Ours.But a lot of people at Ego Star Promotions weren’t so quick to forget. They still thought I was the one who stole from them.”
I exhale hard, raking a hand through my hair as my voice roughens. “Some walked out. Others stayed, but they looked at me like I was a stain. I had to prove myself every single day, head down, grinding, taking the heat while my old man played therole of the forgiving hero. The guy who gave his screw-up kid a second chance.”
The resentment still burns like acid in my blood. “Dad got clean. He got sympathy. And I got five years of steel bars, cold concrete, and a felony charge that’ll follow me forever.”
I glance at Lyric, see the shimmer of fresh tears in her eyes as she wipes one away, and I force out a humorless laugh, low and raw. “But that’s what you do for the people you love, right?”
Her bottom lip quivers as her hand comes up, caressing the side of my face. The touch of her hand sends warmth through me—a heat, a spark. I haven’t felt her soothing touch for so long, I’m like a junkie getting a fix.
“You did all that? You took the fall to protect those you love?”
“I’d do anything to protect the people I love,” I say, my voice low. “That’s what I was trying to do with you, Lyri. I thought keeping my name, my job, my family, myfucking worldseparate, would protect you. Keep whatwehad real.” I glance away. “But all I did was screw it up. I didn’t see that hiding the truth was just another way of hurting you.”
Her eyes fall. “And I jumped the gun… went straight to not trusting you. I’msosorry, Chase. I should have given you a chance to tell me the truth. Instead, I acted so selfishly. God, you must hate me.” Her head falls as she looks to the floor.
Stylo stands and walks to the chair opposite us, giving us some space.
I take her hands, wrapping mine around them firmly, anchoring her to me before her eyes flick up, meeting mine. “I could never hate you, Lyric Griffin. I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.” My voice roughens. “That’s why I’ve been fighting like hell to win you back.”
I lean in just slightly, holding her gaze. “You didn’t know the full story, but I was hoping that once you did, you might see I wasn’t trying to deceive you. I was trying to protect what we had.I see now that it was a huge mistake.” I swallow hard. “But if there’s even a part of you that still believes in us, then I’m asking you to forgive me. Not because I deserve it, but because I never stopped loving you.”
Her bottom lip quivers, her voice breaking as she whispers, “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I let my heart run scared instead of leaning in to the one person who made me feel safe. If anyone messed this up… it was me.”
I shake my head slowly, a quiet scoff escaping. “No, Lyric. You’re exactly who you’re meant to be. Strong. Fierce. Honest. You only did what you thought was right.” My voice drops as I look her straight in the eyes. “Yeah, we both made mistakes. But we’re standing here now, owning them. So the only thing left to ask is…” I pause, my thumb brushing her knuckles. “Do we leave it all behind? Or do we fight for what’s still ours?”
Her hand comes up, caressing my face again, sending a shudder down my spine.
“I love you, Chase. My world doesn’t revolve if you’re not in it.”
My chest squeezes inutter fucking joy. I honestly never thought I would hear her repeat the words I wrote in one of my notes. I run my hand into the back of her hair, pulling her face to mine, forcefully. I should go for the slow, passionate kiss. It should be tender. Loving. But right now, I need to taste her, to make up for all the lost time we’ve missed out on. Her lips crash against mine, her hands snaking up around my neck as her mouth opens, and my tongue collides with hers in a flurry of desire. Kissing her feels like everything I remember, only ten times better.
