Chapter 4 I Met A Girl

"To the prettiest and most lovable woman I've ever known, I hope you take the contents of this letter better than I expect you would.

It is with great mortification and a heavy heart that I write to you. I don't think I can face you and tell you this in person, that's why I'm writing instead. I met a girl, Lyra. I guess you know how the rest of the story goes. I really don't want to hurt you with the details, but I can't continue with this marriage anymore. I'm really sorry about this. I love you, forever and always. Make sure you sign the divorce papers attached to this letter. Get a lawyer, but if that's going to be too much of a hassle for you, my lawyer will be there to put you through. I left you some money in my savings account, enough to get you through some weeks. You'll find the bank book in your closet. Take good care of yourself, pumpkin.

Yours sincerely (it'd be a stupid irony to say 'yours faithfully'), Zander.

Lyra scoffed sardonically and threw the letter on the counter of the wine cellar. That was the surprise package Zander had instructed her not to open until after twenty-four hours.

She shook her head as she walked towards the red wine cellar. "What difference would it have made if I'd opened it twenty hours later, just as he'd instructed?" she mused. She'd have ended up hurt either way.

She scanned the cellar through heavy lids, and finally settled on her favorite red wine. She'd been drinking heavily since she read the letter, and she wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. She was going to drink herself into a stupor.

She'd kept calling her adorable husband, the one that had just served her divorce papers she'd refused to open, but to no avail. All calls went to voicemails, all texts unread.

"Zander's going to be back after a few days, and I'll be sure to let him know he shouldn't pull this kind of trick on me again," she said to herself as she poured the red wine into a wine glass.

She trudged into the sitting room and turned on Arthur's U Got it Bad, then danced her way to the basement. She would sit and stare at her glorious wedding dress all day, trying to time travel back to the day she'd felt the happiest.

The persistent vibration in the pocket of her overalls stopped her in her tracks. Maybe, just maybe, Zander had seen her million calls and decided to call back.

To her disappointment, it was an unknown number. She tried to replace the phone in her pocket, but on a second thought, she paused. Maybe it was Zander, just with someone else's number?

She quickly swiped to the answer icon. "Zander?" she said into the phone, her voice breathless.

After what seemed like a minute's silence to Lyra, the voice on the other end spoke up.

"Hello. Is this Lyra Raven?"

It was the deepest, richest voice Lyra had ever heard. On a good day, she'd have let it swoon her. Basked in it. But today was definitely not a good day.

"Who's this?"

"My name's Orion. I'd like to meet up with you and discuss a few things." After a heartbeat, he added, "please."

Lyra sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person. I don't know you. I don't know any Orion."

"It's about your husband, Lyra. Zander Raven."

Lyra's heart missed a thousand beats in a nanosecond. "What about him?" she queried, but before he could say anything, a thought occurred to her, and she quickly chipped in. "Hold up. Who do you think is my husband?"

"Zander Raven."

Lyra flinched hard as the stranger said her husband's name in a very personal way. She swallowed hard, setting down the glass she had in her hand and sitting on one of the steps. "So, what about my husband?"

"Look, just come over to Tickles. It's a bar close to where you live. Let's talk when you get here."

Lyra gasped when he mentioned Tickles. How did he know that bar? Was he, perhaps, a stalker?

"If you don't tell me who you are this insta-" Lyra started to say, but she didn't get to finish her sentence.

"I'll be waiting for you," the stranger interrupted abruptly, and the line went dead.

Lyra sat staring at her phone. She couldn't trust this stranger, but her curiosity and interest had been piqued.

She needed to find out what this stranger had to say. If he was even real, at all.

.

.

Orion turned his head towards the door that had just jingled open, and watched as his best friend's wife took unsteady steps into the bar, looking around. A familiar yearning settled in his stomach as he watched her, the past replaying in his head, against his will. He pictured a chubby girl with braces, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a wistful smile as he realized that the woman he was looking at, at that moment, was a far cry from the chubby girl he'd known.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a cowboy stagger towards Lyra Raven, a leery grin on his face. He quickly stood and walked towards Lyra, but the drunk cowboy was closer to her.

"Hey sweetheart," the drunk cowboy cooed at Lyra, trying to touch her hair. Irritated, Lyra swatted at his hand. She could tell he wasn't the person that she was there to see, from the voice.

"Hey relax, okay? I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Get lost," Lyra spat quietly, still looking around for a familiar face.

Before she knew it, the drunk cowboy had already grabbed her arm. "What did you just say to me, huh?"

"I believe she asked you to get lost. It means you should let her be."

Lyra and the drunk cowboy turned simultaneously to see the third party that had just interrupted.

Lyra knew it was him. The owner of the voice. She took in his profile in one quick sweep. Tall. Broad shouldered. Irises that were a very dark brown. Almost black. An aristocratic nose. Lips that would look breathtakingly beautiful if they smiled. A muscular frame. Unfazed by the Greek god, Lyra refocused her gaze on his face.

"Is it you?"

Orion nodded and turned to the drunk cowboy, who looked between them in confusion. "Didn't you hear her? Get lost."

The cowboy hissed loudly and staggered away, and Orion led Lyra to the bar where he had been sitting.

"So, where's my husband?"