Chapter 2 A Zillion Shards

The porcelain cup that had somehow been on the edge of the table, fell to the marble floor, scattering into a zillion shards.

No one had noticed it.

That was the same way Lyra's heart was suddenly in a zillion shards, and she hadn't noticed. Her husband hadn't noticed either.

The sound of the cup falling to the floor jolted Lyra out of oblivion, and she shook visibly.

"Snap out of it, Lyra." Zander's tone was unbelievably harsh, and Lyra couldn't believe it was her husband she was staring at.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry about this," Lyra apologized, dashing to her feet to gather the shards of ceramic. As she skittered around, she stepped on a shard of glass, and before she could withdraw her foot, it had already pierced her skin. She winced and let out a painful yelp.

Zander cursed under his breath and his chair scraped backward. "You can't even do anything right, so clumsy," he grumbled, gathering their plates and taking them to the kitchen.

"Take care of that mess on the floor, while I do the dishes," he called out to her as he strode to the kitchen.

Lyra was suddenly unaware of her pain as she stared at the retreating back of her husband. Why was he being so cold to her? He couldn't even lend her a hand?

The Zander she had fallen in love with would have rushed to her side in a matter of nanoseconds to help her. No... he wouldn't even have let her get up to clear the shards in the first place. He'd have come running right away, the knight in shining armor she thought she'd married.

She felt her eyes sting, and she almost slapped herself. This was not the time to cry.

She carefully avoided the pointy shards and limped away. By the time she had cleared the floor and wrapped a band around her wound, Zander was back in the room, all dressed and carrying a large duffle bag.

To her surprise.

"Zander," she started tentatively, choosing her words carefully to avoid getting on his nerves further, "why are you all dressed up?"

"I just told you I'm going on a business trip."

"Yeah... but it's night, Zander. You're not really setting out for your trip by eight pm, are you?"

Zander sighed and dumped his bag on the table. "Look, Lyra, I don't want to argue." He opened his bag and took out a brown envelope.

"Here, it's for you," he said, throwing the envelope on the table.

Lyra eyed the envelope suspiciously, reluctant to pick it up. "What's that?"

"You'll find out."

"Zander, I really don't know what's going on, but I believe we can talk about this. Whatever it is."

"There's nothing to talk about, Lyra. It's just work, nothing else. It's not like I'm going away forever." There was something about the way he said the last statement that worried Lyra.

"I know, Zander, but you don't have to leave tonight." "Right?" she added after a pause.

"I do have to leave tonight, Lyra. We're sleeping over at the general manager's house tonight, so we can go over a few things as a team, before heading out tomorrow. That's why I have to leave tonight."

Lyra sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. There was no convincing him.

"So, be good, okay?"

He glanced at the envelope on the table, and back at Lyra's face. "Pick that up, will you?"

Lyra dragged her feet closer to the table, and took the envelope.

"I have to head out now."

"Before you go, Zander, can I ask?"

"Shoot."

"You've been acting strangely since that phone call earlier in the day." She paused, studying his face closely for any emotion at all. "Why?"

She saw the flash of pain in Zander's eyes, before it disappeared like it was never there. His eyes were back to being a pair of unemotional portals. Unfamiliar portals.

"Don't be ridiculous, Lyra. Why would I act strange? Did you give me any reason to?"

Lyra shrugged and shook her head, "no, but-"

"Then relax. I'll see you soon." He started to walk towards the door, and with each step he took, Lyra's heart grew heavier. Was he really leaving? Just like that? Without a proper, affectionate goodbye?

The weight in her heart was suspended in the air when he paused, and slowly turned to look at her. Then the weight dropped a few decibels when his lips curved up in that familiar smile she loved so much.

"Come here," he said, his voice a gruff whisper, and Lyra let gravity pull her towards him, into his arms. Zander engulfed her in a tight embrace, squeezing her. "I love you, Lyra. Remember that."

It was then the tears came. Lyra tried hard to force it back, but it was already too late. She cried silently.

Zander pulled away and dropped a light peck on her forehead. "Take good care of yourself. Most importantly, don't open that envelope until after twenty-four hours. Okay?"

Lyra nodded glumly and watched him leave, the tears still streaming down her cheeks, a thousand thoughts and questions running through her mind.

.

.

The envelope on the bedside table kept staring at Lyra, and with each minute and hour that passed, it got harder to ignore it. She'd tried so hard to pretend it wasn't there, in the last eight hours, by doing any and everything that'd distract her. She was also trying not to think about her husband, who had just left her to go on a business trip in the middle of the night.

She'd tried to sleep, but she'd only tossed and turned on the bed. Then she tried binge-watching the series Elsa kept singing about. The Gentle Ladies. It was a good watch, but she just couldn't concentrate.

At the ninth hour, she gave in. She carefully tossed her Touchpad Pro on the bed and picked up the envelope. At least whatever was in there wasn't going to kill her, so why wait?

She inhaled deeply, and exhaled, then proceeded to open the envelope. The envelope contained a couple of papers. She wasn't prepared for what she saw when she opened one of them.

Gasping, and her eyes wide, she threw the paper on the floor, shocked to the marrow of her bone.