Her Sinful Desire

CHAPTER ONE

"Make sure your eyes are shut!" Lyra said as she covered her boyfriend's eyes and led him towards the entrance of the building. Today was their third year anniversary and Lyra had a whole lot of surprises in store for the day.

"Lyra, you know you don't have to do any of this right? We could've just had a quiet evening dinner at your place or mine. You didn't have to go all out." Gerald, her boyfriend, expressed.

Gerald's words stung a bit as Lyra had felt they should go big this year unlike the previous years where they just go to the park or some restaurant for dinner. She took it upon herself to create a thrilling experience for him this year.

Lyra snorted, "Don't worry, by the time you see what I have in store for you then you'll be so happy we didn't go with that boring idea of yours."

Gerald sighed. "Alright, if you say so."

Lyra smiled in elation, excitedness surged in her veins as they approached the building and the valet opened the door for them and Lyra led Gerald into the hall. The lights were switched off and beneath the darkness was where one of the surprises laid still, all hiding behind the chairs and tables and waiting for the right moment.

"SURPRISE!" The lights came back on as all the party guests came out from hiding and yelled in excitement at the celebrants. Lyra removed her hands from over his eyes and Gerald visibly flinched, being startled by seeing so many people in a room.

His eyes widened as he scanned through the guests, his friends from work were here, his old college mates, his siblings, Lyra's close friends, her friends from work as well and some of their neighbours. There were at least twenty–five people in the room and Gerald was taken aback by the numbers.

The venue was a party hall; it had a big banner with 'Happy Three Years Anniversary' slapped across it. Loved up pictures of Gerald and Lyra were all over the place; in any angle you would turn to, there was a picture of them plastered there. Gerald cringed, it was something he found quite uncomfortable.

There was music, a DJ by the corner shuffling the playlist and then his eyes went back to the happy invited guests, who were now dancing to the music, socializing with each other and some other had the red party cups in their hands, drinking.

Tables and chairs were set across the perimeter. A table was set aside at the edge of the room and it was stocked with gifts, they had bought gifts for them?

He swung around to face Lyra, who had a big smile on her face but he was the opposite of that- an unsatisfied frown sat on his lips but he quickly wiped it off before it could register in Lyra's mind. He immediately replaced it with a feigned smile.

"Lyra, this is-I feel this is a bit too much..." Gerald expressed in chagrin.

Lyra's smile dampened down a bit, "What, why do you say so? I just wanted something great for our third year anniversary. Aren't you excited?" She questioned. Gerald hesitated to answer as he didn't know how to delicately deliver his words in a way that won't get her more upset than she already was.

However, Lyra mistook Gerald's apathy for cold feet and figured that he was just reacting that way because he was taken unawares and brought into a room filled with people.

A teasing smirk slied her lips, "Are you shy, Gerald?" He remained quiet and she nudged his side playfully but he still didn't budge.

"Alright, I know what will put you in the mood." Her smirk morphed into a giddy smile as she reached for the back pocket of her jeans and began slowly drawing out something as she gradually got on her knees.

Realization slapped Gerald square in the face as he instantly knew what Lyra was about to do. His brows furrowed in contempt as he absolutely hated what Kyra was about to do, it didn't settle down well with him.

She prompted open the ring case, a beautiful silver ring sat in the holder and the party guests gasped in excitement when they saw Lyra on her knees, about proposing to Gerald!

"Gerald, I'm not going to give you a whole sappy speech about why I love you and why I think you're the best thing to ever happen to me, I know you already know all of that. Our love is strong and mutual and the past three years with you have been the most exciting and thrilling ones of my entire life. I'm usually one to go for what I want and I want you, Gerald. So would you marry me?" Lyra popped the big question and the onlooking crowd was filled with 'oohs' and 'aahs', murmurs too as they all awaited the groom's answer- the expected, 'yes, I will marry you.' and then they would all cheer for joy at the newest engaged couples.

But they waited moments and moments for Gerald to say something, but he wasn't speaking. He just stood there, with an expression no one could quite identify and stared down at Lyra.

Gerald's silence was getting to Lyra now and her smile fizzled out. She started to slowly read the expression hidden in Gerald's green eyes and saw that there wasn't even a single hint of receptiveness to this proposal in there.

A hard lump formed in her throat, "What is wrong Gerald? Aren't you...aren't you going to say something?"

"Why didn't you consult me before making such a bold decision, Lyra?" The tanned–skinned male finally spoke, and it definitely wasn't what the guests had expected to hear. It definitely wasn't what Lyra was expecting to hear.

The guests went quiet immediately; the room was so silent, you could almost hear the sound of Lyra's heart breaking at the seams.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, Gerald. There's no way I can tell you abou-"

"No Lyra. No, I can't get married to you. I have a girlfriend, okay and I'm so in love with her and that's who I want to marry, not you." Gerald divulged without any remourse and the heavy words struck Lyra deeply. It was like her whole world came to a depressing halt. But she masked her emotions and didn't let any of it slip unto her face.

It took her a few moments to accept that she wasn't dreaming and Gerald was actually in front of her and spewing these hurtful words. She flicked a tear away from her eye and looked up at Gerald.

"Then why were you with me? I thought you loved me."

He scoffed, "I was only with you to get intel on your company." He revealed and Lyra's jaw dropped in shock, her co–workers gasped from the crowd.

Gerald was the managing director of a company that rivaled the one Lyra worked at. And everything was starting to make perfect sense now.

"Happy third anniversary, Lyra." Gerald scornfully said with a wicked smirk on his lips, and then he turned and left the venue.

Lyra got up on her feet and smiled sardonically as she watched the man she had loved walk away from her life forever. Her co–workers gave her unpalatable looks and murmuring and gossiping about her and her jeopardizing decision to date an enemy.

Lyra shook her head, saying nothing and paying no mind to the back talk; she wore a brave face, despite being on the verge of hot tears. She had to go home immediately, there was no need to stay back anyways...

On her way out of the venue, she grabbed one of the pictures of her and Gerald then smashed it on the ground.

"Fuck you, Gerald!"

CHAPTER TWO

Lyra decided against going home-if she went home, she would cry her eyes out and she felt Gerald didn't deserve even the littlest bit of her tears.

So she got into her car and drove all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Her stop was at a pub downtown and she was going to have herself shit–faced drunk and drown her sorrows in alcohol. That's way better than crying over stupid Gerald.

"Three shots of vodka." She sat on the barstool and said her order. The bar man turned around to face her with a welcoming smile, he was previously cleaning the glasses.

Lyra noted the appeal in the barman, he was a handsome man and maybe a bit younger than her; probably twenty–two or twenty–three. He was good looking, too good looking to be a barman.

"In a minute." He replied and went ahead to get her order.

Lyra took out her phone that had been buzzing non-stop all through her drive here. They were message notifications. A handful of them were congratulatory messages on her third year anniversary with the betraying bastard, others were inquiries about how the party was going, but the majority of them came from her office group chat.

It was on fire! And she was the topic of discussion, her co–workers were throwing jabs at her for risking the fate of their business, and others were saying she should be fired. Lyra sighed and switched off the phone, she didn't need to add anything more to her already full bowl of sorrows.

Lyra Blossom, a twenty–five year old successful entrepreneur and a member of the executive board of one of the most popular companies in New York, Ritz Group of companies.

Lyra had worked her way up to greatness, having grown up in Mott Haven, Bronx that was one of the worst places in New York, she knew she had to get out of that place by all means. She struggled to get her degree-deep struggles, she was a hustler and had to do so many things to get enough money to send herself through school. All she wanted was to be a better person, so she can grant herself and her mother who worked so hard to take care of her after her dad left them, a great life.

She downed the three shots of vodka in quick succession immediately they arrived on the table.

She banged the shot glass on the table to signal the barman, "More!" She barked and he came to attend to her. She gestured 'three' with her fingers and the barman looked at her with weariness but didn't object and went to get her order.

The alcohol hit the exact spot, and she felt herself getting slightly drowsy. That's when the memories started rushing back into her headspace instead of being driven away. That was the opposite of what Lyra wanted, she came here to forget her plights not give them more strength in her memories.

She lost her mother three years ago and that was the very catalyst that made her throw herself at Gerald to 'ease the pain', she ended up falling in love with him and she thought he loved her too. But the events of today said otherwise.

Her shots had arrived and she was quick to down all the glasses. The patchy burn of the vodka was bittersweet and she appreciated its scorch.

She exhaled in relief and passed the glasses back to the barman, "More. Make it four this time." She said with a cheeky smile.

The barman wasn't satisfied with Lyra's reckless drinking and he instantly could tell that there was something up with her, something deep because that's the only thing that would make her want to indulge in so much alcohol.

However, he wasn't going to oppose her wishes. It wasn't in his job description to be nosy or tell the customer what is wrong or what is right. He grabbed the glasses and went to get her order-four more shots of vodka, by the time she's done with that she would definitely be bawling out her guts.

He wondered what would make a beautiful girl like her be so heartbroken? A hint of smile played on his lips as he remembered her impeccable looks.

She was a beauty to behold; she had fair skin, a petite body with delectable curves and full red lips that gave the greatest smiles. Her deep brown eyes were kind and gentle and a stellar feature of hers were her blonde waist–length curls.

She was fucking beautiful and seemed very intriguing, the barman was instantly interested in knowing more about her.

He returned with her order and immediately he set it down, she got a head start and began downing them a little bit too fast. His face crinkled, she was being too reckless with alcohol.

"You might want to slow down a bit, miss." He advised genuinely, she was already done with the second and going for the third. "You're going to be sick tomorrow if you continue at this rate."

Lyra burped as she finished the third and then faced the barman, "I liked you better when you just minded your business and did as I asked." She was reaching for the last glass but his hand intercepted, and he took it away from her.

"Well since you're so concerned about me, would you mind telling me why guys just live breaking girls' hearts?" She asked, and then tried to take the shot out of his hands. His grip was firm and he wasn't ready to let go of it.

Lyra looked up at him and said nothing, simply allowing her eyes to roam around his features, his very handsome features and she was instantly smitten as his mere looks ignited something in her. Was it the alcohol?

"Listen, I'll stop drinking if you offer something else to ease my pain..." Lyra smirked suggestively and the bar man instantly caught up, and he was more than delighted to help her in any form she wanted...

Her hands rested on his as she drew imaginative partners on it with her fingers, staring deep into his eyes seductively. "So tell me, when do you get off work?"

The barman had a risque grin on, "Well, in about two-"

Lyra suddenly gagged and looked like she was about to throw–up. She got up from the stool quickly and raced outside the bar and emptied her insides in a nearby bush. She felt drained and tired, so she leaned on a parked car to catch some air before going back in.

Then, she started to hear loud voices coming from somewhere in the parking lot and it gained her attention, they sounded like they were arguing. Just as she started to scan around to see where the voices stemmed from, she heard a loud gunshot!

CHAPTER THREE

The gunshot was loud and Lyra was instantly frightened, she let out a scared yell and quickly ducked to hide behind the car she was leaning on-she didn't know where the shot was fired from and she didn't know if there would be more. She had to be safe.

As she had rightly thought, there was another shot fired into the air and Lyra was so frightened, she had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming again. Since she didn't know who their target was, it was best to remain as silent as possible.

She waited a few moments to hear another gunshot but she heard nothing. She decided to wait for a while before she raised her head up to see if the cost was clear enough for her to run back into the bar.

But just as she peeked her head up, she immediately spotted three men that were dressed in all–black, strapped with guns and in ski masks, passing right in front of her. Lyra instantly panicked, and hastily lowered herself down so that men would not see her.

She ducked again and was able to overhear the discussion of the three men as they passed by. Those were the same voices she had heard arguing with another voice before the gunshot. And now that she thought about it, the other voice did sound kind of familiar. But she couldn't quite place her fingers on who it belonged to.

"Finally, that bastard Ritz is gone." One of them laughed proudly.

"Yeah. After a long while of haunting him down, he's finally out of the way." Another agreed and all three of them laughed in unison.

Lyra's jaw slacked as she gasped in sheer surprise, was she actually hearing correctly? Did they just say the name, Ritz?

What Lyra had heard drove straight into her mind and she instantly sobered up. She was trembling in fear and scared to her bones. She waited until she stopped hearing their voices and she could no longer hear their footsteps and then, she gently stood up, looked around to ascertain that she was alone and began searching around for the person they had shot.

She started to look around the lonely parking lot, but it didn't take her long to find exactly what she was looking for. The sight of it halted her in her tracks and her heart started beating fast against her chest. She contemplated running away, in case the cops would come over and then she'd be in trouble for being at the crime scene.

Her boss, Malcom Ritz, was on the ground, next to his car with a bullet hole gutted right in his stomach. Lyra gasped in shock and then the tears she had been holding back all through the night began flowing freely. She decided it would be better to run away quickly and she went with that thought but just as she was about to turn around, he spoke.

"Lyra...is that you?" He weakly croaked, and coughed out some blood afterwards.

Lyra was joyed to see that he was still alive and she immediately rushed beside him and knelt to his height, "Mr. Malcolm! You're alive! I can get you to a hospital, just give me a moment to call an ambulance."

"Lyra...Lyra...Lyra..." He repeatedly called out her name, life had greatly ebbed out of him and he was already near–death. He knew that calling an ambulance wouldn't do much for him, it was already too late.

"Please, don't speak too much sir. You need to conserve the little energy you still have left." Lyra concernedly said to him as she searched for her phone in her purse to call an ambulance, and the cops.

"Lyra...look at my neck." Malcolm said and Lyra paused, puzzled as to why he asked her to look at his neck. She did so anyway and noted a necklace there. "Take this necklace and keep it." He urged her.

Lyra's forehead creased, "But sir-"

"Ju–just do it Lyra, take it please." He coughed out another splash of blood again. Lyra hesitated for a while but ended up doing as her boss had said and unfastened the necklace.

"I've taken it off sir."

"Listen to me Lyra. I want you to g–guard that necklace...with all your life. Keep it safe please. Make sure no one ever sees this necklace and ma–make sure you don't tell anyone about it. I know you're wond–wondering why I asked you to keep this. Don't worry, the answer...you'll know it very soon." Malcom said to her and went to profusely cough out another splash of blood again.

Lyra looked at the necklace in her hand, it was golden and had a strange pendant at the bottom. Lyra was deeply puzzled by the strange pendant and the fact that Malcom was giving it to her.

Lyra wanted to ask questions or better still, reject the necklace, but she can do all of that after she had gotten him to a hospital and he's recovered.

"Hang on, Mr. Malcom. I'm calling the police now, they'll have an ambulance here for you soon. Just hang on long enough, please" Lyra said to him and got on her feet as she began calling the ambulance and she put the necklace into her pocket.

"Hello? Please, three guys just shot my boss at a bar- Yes, at Brooklyn-No, no the guys ran away after they shot him-Oh thank goodness. We're at the parking lot of Ace Bar." And the line went dead. The police had were on their way with an ambulance.

"They're on their way, Mr. Malcom." Lyra said and waited a moment, but didn't get any answer from him. She looked down at him with arched brows.

"Mr. Malcom...are you hearing me?" Lyra asked and still didn't get any response. She started to panic now, she bent down to his height and shook him slighty. No response. She picked up his arm, and it dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Her breath hitched as a gasp escaped, she gently picked up his arm to check his pulse but she couldn't feel anything. His cold hand slipped out of hers that began to tremble in panic, she was scared, freaking scared- her boss just died before her very eyes, even before the ambulance can get to him.

Who killed him? Why did they want him dead? Why did he give her the necklace and what does the necklace mean? These and many more questions roamed Lyra's head as she stared at her boss, motionless in his own pool of blood.

Malcom Ritz, time of death; 9;49pm

Status: Dead on Arrival.