Chapter Eighty-Three
*Invisible Walls*
The drive home from the beach was quiet, filled with the soft, fading echo of the sea. Sand was in their shoes, the smell of salt on their skin. It had been a strange, peaceful afternoon. No contracts, no families, no Axel. Just two people walking on the edge of the water, not talking much, but the silence wasn’t heavy.
Now, back in the penthouse, the real world began to seep back in. They ordered simple food—sushi and soup—and ate at the kitchen island.
“The ocean is loud,” Lyra said, pushing her empty bowl away. “But it’s a clean kind of loud. It washes everything else out.”
Xami nodded, finishing his water. “It does. We should go more often.” He looked at her, a grain of sand glittering in her hair. “You have sand… everywhere.”
Lyra brushed a
