The Betrayal Within

Lyra's eyes widened in shock and amusement as her only friend, Elsa, narrated her ordeal at the nightclub to her.

"Elsa, you're kidding, right?"

"I'm dead serious, Lyra. That boy was a total charmer. I don't know if it was because we were both drunk, but the chemistry was electric. You needed to be there! You'd probably have felt it too," Elsa replied a little too seriously.

Lyra chuckled awkwardly and flicked her hair away from her face. "I mean, it's totally cool, but didn't you say he was way younger than you?"

Elsa scoffed and shook her head. "Who cares? I'm not as lucky as you, who have the perfect marriage to a drop-dead gorgeous man. The man of your dreams."

Elsa angled her head backwards to study Lyra, a curious look on her face. "Hey, shouldn't you be happy for me, at least?"

Lyra laughed awkwardly and shook her head, fidgeting. "Oh please, don't get me wrong, El. I'm very happy for you. You know I'd always be. It's just... I'm concerned about you too."

"You don't have to be, girl. I just want to find the kind of love you have. You know, you have a beautiful thing about Zander. I envy you." Elsa had a wistful expression on her face as she said that, but Lyra knew she meant well, despite how she might have sounded. Elsa had always stood by her no matter what, rooting for her, and pushing her when she felt like she couldn't go on anymore.

Lyra Raven, a university undergraduate, had her fair share of misfortunes in life. She'd lost her parents and her only brother in a car accident, in which she'd somehow managed to be the only survivor. The accident had occurred on her tenth birthday, and she'd worn a cloak of guilt ever since, blaming herself for her family's demise, because she had persisted on a birthday dinner in a luxurious restaurant that day. She'd constantly wished she could turn back the unequal hands of time, to rewrite the sad, haunting past. But they were only wishes... and she couldn't ride them even if they were horses. She wasn't confident enough.

Color had gradually started to return to her bleak life when she met Elsa, in high school, and then it had gotten even more colorful on that fateful day, in her sophomore year, when she'd bumped into the man that was now her husband.

The flash of memories brought an irresistible smile to her face, and she chuckled when she caught Elsa slanting her eyes at her.

"I bet you're thinking about him, huh?" Elsa queried, then she added, shaking her head. "I told you, I'm so envious of you. Xander adores you. Have you seen the way he looks at you? I'd totally kill to have a man that looks at me the way Zander looks at you."

Lyra shrugged as she pressed the button for the garage. "Like I always say, El, love will definitely find you. Don't go looking for it."

"So, tell me more about this guy you met at the club," she added as they stepped into the elevator.

Lyra paid rapt attention as Elsa chattered about how she'd hooked up with the guy on a love settee, at a rather secluded spot in the club, and how he'd left her wanting more, with his phone number, and a heart-shaped finger gesture, as passing gifts.

"So, have you called him yet?"

"Not yet. I'm kinda nervous about it."

"Why? I've never known you to be nervous."

"Well... I don't really know what to say to him when I call. And he seemed like-"

She never got to finish her sentence, as Lyra's phone rang out shrilly, interrupting her.

"Hold on," Lyra pleaded, searching her bag for her phone.

She looked at the screen and smiled. "Hey, handsome."

There was an unusual and disturbing silence on the other end, and Lyra's heart skipped a bit. Was something wrong?

"Baby? Zander?" she prompted, not letting the fear she was starting to feel reflect in her voice.

The person on the other end cleared his throat, and started in a clipped voice, "can you get home early today?"

"Zander, what's the problem? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Lyra. Just try to get home early today. I'd like to have dinner with you, for a change."

Lyra? He never called her Lyra.

"Uhm, o-okay. I will," Lyra stuttered, and the line went dead even before she could say anything else. The hand holding her mobile phone dropped lifelessly to her side, the loud thud of her heartbeat almost deafening her.

"Lyra, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost," Elsa asked, the concern deeply etched in her tone. But Lyra didn't really hear her. She just heard echoes of a familiar voice, but she couldn't make out anything her friend was saying. Her mind was racing.

Something was definitely wrong.

The dinner was eerily quiet and broody.

Lyra forked around her plate, not having the appetite for the meal of scrambled eggs and bread slices in front of her, watching her husband eat his meal with gusto. Everything about the night was just... unusual.

Starting from the phone call, to the stiff reception when she got back home, and the painful, aching silence that hung in the air between them. Now, it was the way he forked the food into his mouth, not even glancing at her once.

He never ate like that.

Lyra sighed and tried to shake the feeling. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Or he probably had a bad day at work.

She was definitely imagining all of this.

"How's work?" she asked, an attempt to strike their first conversation since she got home.

Zander shrugged and continued to chew with a lot of concentration, still not looking at her.

"Baby?" Lyra prompted, refusing to accept the cold shoulder he was giving her.

"Work was like work, Lyra. Same as usual," Zander finally replied a little reluctantly, between mouthfuls.

Lyra nodded glumly, her mind already racing in search of another question to keep their conversation going. She'd seen that Zander was the least interested in having a conversation.

She was on the verge of asking a totally clueless question, (something about his newfound appetite), when Zander said in a flat tone, "and speaking about work, I'm going on a business trip."

Lyra's jaw dropped, and her mouth fell open.

"What business trip?" she queried before she could stop herself, and when Zander looked up at her with hard, unemotional eyes, she knew she had made a mistake. Her hands dropped to her laps under the dining table, fingers trembling.

This was not her Zander.

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.

The loud crack of the whip forced the reluctant grade horse to jerk forward. The stretched whining that followed indicated that the horse was highly offended by the whip.

"That's enough, dad. Are you trying to kill her?"

Orion Blackwood rushed forward, snatching the whip from his father's raised hand before he could land another thrash on the poor horse's back.

Drew Blackwood shifted backwards and studied his son through a pair of angry slits. "You're too soft, Orion. Why would we go easy on a horse that's trained for the tracks? What good is that going to do us?"

"Well, this is definitely not the way to train her, dad. You've got to follow them with ease, and you can still maintain firmness by doing that, and achieve your desired result."

Drew sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. "How are we going to win at the upcoming tournament if you keep this up?"

"Just let me handle this, dad. Leave Aria to me."

"I mean, there's a thousand better horses you can choose from. I don't understand why you keep insisting on a breed with unidentifiable roots. She's clearly a nuisance!"

Orion felt his blood boil at the statement, and he whirled to glare at his father, who had started to walk away.

"You shouldn't talk that way, dad. Aria shouldn't be treated any differently because she-"

"Save it, Orion. If she isn't making me any money, then she's a nuisance to me. Just so you know, we have to win the tournament. A lot of bets have been placed on us, and we're not about to lose a lot of money because you're being foolishly sympathetic towards a horse. Get your head in the game."

Orion stood there, seething, while he watched his father's retreating back. He'd never understood his father's hatred for this particular horse. Or was it his ambitious spirit? He couldn't tell.

Having lost all interest, he sighed and stomped his foot on the wet soil, kicking up dirt in the process. The grade horse, Aria, seemed frightened by the action, as she galloped backwards, whining.

"Sorry buddy, I guess that scared you," Orion apologized in a soft voice, stroking the thick mane that decorated the horse's neck.

"Do you want me to get that for you?"

Orion turned back to look at his personal assistant, Rusk, who had quietly crept up behind him.

"Nah, I've got this. I'll take her to the stables myself."

Rusk started to argue, but Orion cut him off before he could say anything. "Just... let me do it."

Rusk shrugged and followed closely behind as Orion led the horse to the stables. "Are you good?"

"Man, I hate all of this," Orion replied, shaking his head.

Orion Blackwood was the only son of Drew Blackwood, a Texan business tycoon who amassed great wealth right from the beginning of the contemporary era, and had only grown bigger and waxed stronger in the business world. He was a legit business person, they said.

But Orion had heard several stories about how his father had come about his wealth. The most consistent of them all was the one about Drew being the most recalcitrant street fighter of his time, and having been recruited as the personal bodyguard of the heir of the most popular drug cartel of his time, craftily fought his way to the top.

This was the story that Orion could easily believe, because he saw a hardened criminal underneath all that 'legitimate businessman' facade his father put up in public.

To rightly prove him right, his father had started a gambling business with a racing tournament in recent years. Typical of a criminal.

Now, he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps, as he was going to inherit everything the great Drew Blackwood ever owned, one day.

Casinos. Hotels. Luxury brands. Cryptocurrency hubs. Asset management companies.

Every single thing.

Orio wasn't the least interested in any of these, but he didn't have a choice.

Just as he took out an apple to feed Aria, his phone rang, jolting him out of his thoughts.

He ignored the call, thinking it was his secretary. He wasn't willing to entertain any work calls today. He'd made it clear to his secretary.

"Aria, I'm sorry about earlier. You shouldn't mind the old man, as he's just being grumpy," Orion said to the horse, stroking her mane as she ate the apple out of his hand. "Old men are usually grumpy, so I hope you understand," he added, a smirk on his face.

The phone rang again, and Orion rolled his eyes. Why couldn't they just let him be?

He took out the phone from his back pocket and looked at the caller ID. His brows furrowed into a frown as he saw who was calling, and he signaled to Rusk, who was standing aside and eyeing him suspiciously. "Here, make sure she finishes this, and feed her another when she's done eating," he instructed, handing the apple over to him.

"What's up mate," he said into the phone as he picked up the call.

"Orion, man, it's time."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Zander," Orion replied, totally confused.

"Ugh man, don't tell me you've forgotten what we discussed already."

"It wouldn't be bad if you gave me a recap, you know." He could hear Zander's sigh of frustration from the other end of the line, and he wondered what it was that was putting Zander Raven, the indomitable Zander Raven, on edge.

"Talk to me, man," Orion probed.

"It's about my wife, Lyra."

Orion flinched at the mention of Lyra Raven, and he was offended that just the sound of her name could still get a reaction out of him. "What about her?" Orion queried in the most nonchalant voice possible.

"What do you mean, 'what about her'? We discussed something concerning her, remember?"

"Remind me, Zander."

"You promised to do me that favor, Orion. Don't feign ignorance now, dude. Don't pull that on me."

"Hold up, a favor?"

"Yes, Orion. I'm finally getting a divorce, so I guess I don't have to remind you what that favor is."

Orion cursed under his breath as he grasped what Zander was talking about.

How could he forget?