Chapter 2

He approved it so quickly?

Lyra was shocked and heartbroken; it seemed he had wanted her to leave for a long time.

"Who gave you permission to come back?" Wyatt suddenly asked from the other side.

His tone was indifferent, his words were cold, just like he always did on the phone.

This is the Wyatt she knows.

"I told you on the phone yesterday." Lyra tried her best not to look into his eyes, to avoid being hurt by his sharp coldness.

Did I agree?

“I already said, my mother is sick.”

"So what?" Wyatt looked at her coldly. "Should the company pay the price for your personal emotions?"

His gaze towards her was always the same—unwavering, devoid of emotion, a complete and utter disregard: "Go to the company and accept your punishment yourself."

Punishment?

In fact, Lyra wanted to say that there was no need for that, since she had already resigned, what could he do to her? But saying these words would inevitably lead to some trouble, and she had more important things to do at the moment.

“I will go to the company and explain the punishment to HR, but I have other things to do here today.”

"Tell the nanny what's wrong." Wyatt clearly didn't want to continue the conversation with her, glanced at his watch, and prepared to leave.

Seeing that he was about to leave, Lyra stopped beating around the bush and said, "I need money now."

Upon hearing this, Wyatt paused for a moment, then frowned: "How much?"

When he asked that, Lyra thought there was hope. The anxiety she had been carrying finally seemed to find a foothold, and her tone softened: "3 million."

Then, as if worried that he might misunderstand, she explained, "My mother is sick and hospitalized. Besides my savings, I need 3 million."

After saying that, she looked intently at the man in front of her, the man she called her husband.

Lyra thought he would probably agree. After all, aside from work, they were still husband and wife.

After all, they'd known each other since college, and he was the one who proposed marriage. He must have had some feelings for her, right? Besides, they'd been married for three years now, and he should have been able to sense how passionately and sincerely she'd loved him all those years. Furthermore, 3 million was nothing to him; one of his everyday coats cost more than that.

But after waiting for a long time, she didn't get his agreement. Instead, she received a cold snort and undisguised sarcasm: "Lyra, you want money from me? What makes you think you can?"

A single, cold sentence was slapped across her face, like a resounding blow that instantly shattered her previous thoughts.

Lyra was somewhat dazed from being slapped.

On what grounds?

Are the reasons that she is his wife, that she has earned billions of dollars in profits for the Bloodsworth family over the years, and that she has control over half of his assets enough?

But Lyra couldn't bring herself to ask any of these questions. Meeting Wyatt's cold and sarcastic gaze, she felt that offering these reasons would only bring her humiliation.

"Can I borrow it from you?"

"Borrow? How will you pay it back?"

She had already backed down, but Wyatt was still pressing her. Lyra was getting a little impatient: "Then can I at least get an advance on my salary and year-end bonus?"

"You probably know better than I when your salary will be enough to pay off this 3 million." Wyatt remained indifferent.

Lyra's eyes stung with tears, a mix of grievance and heartache welling up inside her: "Wyatt, did you have to go to such extremes?"

“Absolutely?” Wyatt looked down at her as if she were a stranger. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand our relationship.”

Relationship? What kind of relationship do they have? Lyra wanted to ask him, wasn't their relationship a legally recognized marriage? Or were they even less than strangers?

Before she could even ask the question, a piercing bark suddenly came from upstairs, and Lyra's heart skipped a beat.

Before being assigned to the port city, she had a dog named Dodo. However, since it wasn't convenient to take it with her when she left, she left Dodo with her family's nanny. Now, the nanny here has long since changed, and Dodo…

Lyra couldn't bear to argue with Wyatt anymore and ran straight upstairs. But the closer she got, the more pitiful the puppy's barking became. She was extremely anxious, her heart pounding in her throat.

Finally, she spotted the puppy around the corner; it was indeed her Dodo. But the sight that met her eyes almost made Lyra scream uncontrollably.

Besides Dodo, Maddy and Zane were also at the corner at that moment.

Maddy stood to the side with her arms crossed, while Zane straddled Dodo, kicking and punching her relentlessly. As he hit her, he cursed, "Fat woman, ugly woman, you don't deserve to be my mother."

Lyra could hardly believe what she was seeing. Overwhelmed with emotion, she shouted, "What are you doing?"

Hearing the shouts, Zane did not stop. Instead, he gave Lyra a cold look and continued to beat her.

Lyra couldn't bear it any longer. She ran over, picked Zane up, and then held Dodo in her arms, gently stroking and comforting her. Unfortunately, Dodo's eyes were already vacant, she was on the verge of death, and her body was lifeless.

Now, because they were closer, Lyra noticed a photo stuck to Dodo's forehead. A bright red background, a white shirt—what else could it be but her and Wyatt's wedding registration photo?

However, Wyatt had already been cropped out, leaving only her in the photo. She had a sweet smile, her expression both shy and happy, a stark contrast to the scene before her.

Overwhelmed by a surge of emotions, Lyra's hands trembled with anger, and she lost control of her emotions, reaching out to strike Zane.

Maddy, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly pulled Zane behind her, blocking Lyra: "Is it really necessary? It's just a dog. Why bother arguing with a child?"

"Child? Not every child deserves to be called a child." Lyra was still angry. "Besides, isn't this behavior a result of how adults teach children?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Maddy's expression changed instantly, and her voice suddenly rose: "Lyra, what do you mean? Are you lecturing me? Don't you know where you are? When did it become your place to yell and shout in this house?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Dodo, in her arms, reacted before Lyra. As if in response to stress, it let out two more pitiful cries and then began to wriggle wildly in Lyra's arms.

Lyra tenderly stroked its head and soothed it for a while before Dodo calmed down. Lyra didn't have time to waste; given Dodo's current condition, she had to take it to the vet first.

She was about to leave, but as she turned around, she heard Maddy speak again: "Lyra, you are not good enough for my brother."

This time, besides sarcasm, there was also a lot of provocation. She didn't sound like Wyatt's sister, but rather like his admirer.

Lyra looked at her coldly: "Whether you are worthy or not is not for you to decide." She was determined not to hold back any longer. "Back then, he was the one who took the initiative to propose to me."

To everyone's surprise, upon hearing this, Maddy was not angry at all; instead, the smugness and sarcasm in her eyes deepened: "Is that so? Then you should also consider who he is doing this for."