Chapter 105

Valerie’s POV

Ever since that day—the day Lyra bolted without warning and never looked back—Alistair has vanished from my life completely. He’s ghosted me. No calls, no texts, no explanations. At first, I tried to chalk it up to shock or grief over Lyra’s disappearance, but now, weeks after my business trip abroad, it’s obvious: Alistair wants nothing to do with me.

I had just stepped off the plane, exhausted from meetings and travel, but determined to throw myself into work. Letting go of Alistair had to be the next step; the evidence was clear. He’d moved on—or at least he’d moved away from me emotionally. Still, the entire situation grated on my nerves. Lyra’s vanishing act had triggered this cascade of drama, and I couldn’t stop wondering: where on earth could Lyra be?

Ironically, I felt a flicker of relief when she first went missing. Finally, I thought, Alistair would snap out of his obsession with her and come back to me. I was wrong. Instead, his ind