Page 63 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

“Keep your memories. I hope they haunt you,” she snarled.

Lyla noticed that a thin gold chain had slipped from inside her blouse. At the end of the chain was her ring. The ring Mason had given her – the one she had lost. No, she hadn’t lost it; Natalie had stolen it.

“They will, but what will comfort me is knowing that Mason will never love you,” she said, snatching the ring. The chain snapped, and Natalie reared back. “I believe this belongs tome.”

Natalie gaped. She looked to the council, clearly hoping for them to intervene, but they did nothing. She stormed out of the hall in a huff. Lyla had never been so happy to see someone leave. She dropped the chain and clutched the ring in her palm, the relief of getting it back almost overshadowing what Frederick was saying.

“As I was saying, Lyla may leave – but you must never speak a word of this place, and you can never return.”

Never return?Her stomach dropped. She wouldn’t just be leaving Mason behind, but his family and the acquaintances she’d made. Since she’d arrived, she’d worried about hurting others, but she had never considered how much it would hurtherto leave them behind.

The gavel dropped, and the council was dismissed. Lyla watched Mrs Klaus leave. She wanted to go to her, to apologise and tell her how much she would miss her. To thank her for defending her and making her feel at home. She took a step forward, but Mason placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place.

“Follow me,” Mason said. She thought his tone was less chilling than before. It gave her hope, so she did, out of the chamber and out into the heavily falling snow. She nearly knocked into him when he spun on his heels to face her. “I didn’t mean for Nat to overhear my conversation; I was talking to Mum in private. She asked if we were together, and I said no. Figured there was no point in lying any longer.”

Her heart ached.

“If I hadn’t betrayed your trust then we wouldn’t have got here,” she said, desperately wanting to reach out for him. But Mason looked like he couldn’t care less about her excuses. They might as well be back in the office, animosity lingering between them. She waited for him to speak, to say something.

“I never should have brought you here. It was a mistake.” His words caused pain in places she didn’t know existed.

“Can I say goodbye to your mum, to Lou and Kevin? I don’t want them to think I left without any thought for them,” she asked, though it came out as more of a plea. She also had to get Jones – she certainly wasn’t going to leave him behind.

“You should leave, before they change their mind,” was all he said.

A shred of hope stirred in her as he took her hand; then she felt the chill of metal and saw the gold bell he’d placed on her palm.

Before she could say anything, even if only to thank him for saving her life, Yule melted away around her. Before long, she was standing in her kitchen with Jones perched on the counter.

“How did you get here?” she gasped, when she noticed the small bell attached to his collar.Mason really thought of everything. Her chest tightened, as did her grip on the bell in her hand, and all she could do was cry.

Chapter Twenty Five

LYLA SHOOK THE bell in her hand, willing herself to return, but the bell didn’t ring; it merely disintegrated in her hand. As though her time in the village, her time with Mason, had never happened. Her plugged in phone rang on the counter, distracting her from her tears.

12 missed calls?Some were from Sam, but most were from her father.Maybe this marriage will end before the honeymoon,she thought, sniffling – she didn’t know if it was from the tears or how cold the house was. Once the boiler was lit, she dialled her dad’s number, the international ring beeping.So he is still on his honeymoon…She silently prayed he wouldn’t answer. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and forget.

“Ly? Hello? I couldn’t get you earlier. I think the signal here was stopping me from getting through,” her dad said frantically. The line wasn’t great, but she could make him out clearly enough.

“Sorry, I’ve been… busy the last few days. I kept meaning to get back to you, but I didn’t want to interrupt your honeymoon. How’s it going?” she asked as she boiled the kettle, desperate to warm herself.

“Bliss. The perfect way to spend the winter is in the sun and sand, but I didn’t call to talk about the weather!”

She couldn’t remember the last time she had heard him so happy. She was glad for him, although slightly jealous. “I gathered.”

“Cut the attitude– you aren’t too old for a scolding,” he said, a smile in his voice, but she wasn’t in the mood for humour.

The kettle whistled, and she put the phone on speaker so she could hold the mug of tea in her hands.

“Whatever it is, can it wait until tomorrow? I’m tired. It’s the middle of the night here, and if it’s nothing pressing…”

“No, wait. There’s something urgent regarding the company. Mr Klaus sent me an email yesterday granting you his shares and giving his notice. Did you know about this? I would have appreciated a heads up. He won’t be returning to the company in the new year. I didn’t expect him to sort the finances so quickly! Then again, he came highly recommended.”

She couldn’t tell himshewas the reason Mason was leaving, and she didn’t want to either.

“I didn’t know he was going to contact you, but I told you we weren’t in so much trouble,” she said, trying to keep her voice level.

He sighed, and she knew where the conversation was going.

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