IN DEVIL'S GRIP

chapter three My Responsibility in Every Way

A heavy silence fell over the main drawing-room. While Grandmother Edith screamed in fear, Kellan moved with astonishing speed. He lifted Lyra into his arms and rushed out of the salon, leaving Evan standing and staring with indifference at the spot where she had fallen.

Kellan carried her to her new room, adjacent to his own, and the family doctor was immediately summoned. The doctor confirmed that the fainting was the result of severe nervous shock and extreme stress, ruling out any immediate medical condition.

After the doctor departed, Kellan remained seated next to Lyra. She was barely waking up, her eyes wide with frantic searching for an exit.

"What did you see, Lyra?" Kellan asked in a terrifyingly quiet voice, fixing her with his gaze without raising his tone. "You weren't tired; you were terrified. What caused you to collapse like that immediately upon seeing my brother?"

Lyra trembled violently. Revealing the truth meant destroying her life completely. Evan was his older brother; Kellan would undoubtedly choose his family's blood over some strange girl.

"Nothing... nothing," she stammered, clinging to the weak lie. "It was... too much. The mansion, the clothes, and going out... everything is new... and suddenly a stranger..."

Kellan clenched his jaw. He knew she was lying. He had seen their eyes meet, and he had witnessed the rapid coldness in Evan's gaze.

"Fine. If that is your official answer, I will let it pass. But dare not act this way again."

Kellan rose, heading toward the door. "Sleep. Rest now."

He left without another word, closing the door softly. Lyra was left alone, oscillating between reality and the nightmare. Did her mother truly sell her to the Pierce family? Of course she meant it! She had left her alone with him for thirty days, days Lyra would never forget. Thirty days she was at the mercy of Evan Pierce! And now, Evan was standing right before her eyes, he is her cousin! She closed her eyes in bitter defeat. Why did fate never allow her to feel peace? Why did this keep happening to her?

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A few days passed after the night Lyra fainted. Lyra was a prisoner of herself and her new room. She moved within the confines of the main wing with difficulty, constantly anticipating seeing Evan in any corner. Kellan had doubled his surveillance, though he made no comment on the matter.

One morning, Lyra decided to sit on the balcony overlooking the garden, searching for fresh air away from the pressure of the room. Barely any time had passed before she heard a voice behind her whispering with alarming quietude: "I feel I was deprived of a proper welcome."

Lyra froze. She recognized the voice instantly. She turned to see Evan Pierce standing at the entrance, dressed casually in an elegant style, his wide smile not quite reaching his hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you the night I returned," Evan said in a friendly, deceptive tone. "You were in shock, weren't you?"

Lyra tried to reply, but her voice failed her. She settled for a simple nod, while her gaze pleaded with him to move away.

Evan took a step forward, closing the distance between them, his gaze studying her face with enjoyment. "You were missing for a long time, Lyra. I thought I would never see you again." He paused, then his voice dropped, becoming lower and more threatening: "After the last time your mother brought you... do you remember? Two years ago when you ran away from me and hit me over the head."

Evan regained his smooth tone and added with a cold smile: "Don't worry. I’m good at remembering faces that interest me... especially those that were under my care."

Lyra felt nauseous, clutching the balcony railing to stop herself from collapsing again.

"You are lucky to have Kellan," Evan continued, speaking softly as he picked up a rose from a nearby vase. "He is very serious about his duties. But don't worry, we are brothers, and we will share the responsibility for you; after all, you are part of the family now."

And at the moment Lyra felt she was about to lose consciousness again, she heard another voice, strong and familiar:

"Evan. What are you doing here?"

Kellan was standing a few feet away, his eyes fixed on his brother with a sharp look Lyra couldn't decipher.

Evan gave a slight smile and tossed the rose toward Lyra without touching her. "I was introducing myself to our new cousin. I wanted to check on her after last night's faint. Isn't that my duty as the older brother?"

Kellan did not reply. But he looked at Lyra, then at Evan, in a silence heavy with warning.

Evan sighed lightly. "Well. See you later." He withdrew quietly, leaving behind a trace of danger that permeated the place.

Kellan advanced toward Lyra. "Stay away from Evan. He is not like me. He will not tolerate problems."

And in that moment, Lyra threw herself into Kellan’s embrace and clung to him tightly. She hugged him, searching for security and reassurance, and exclaimed in a choked voice, holding back her tears:

"Don't leave me, Kellan. You are the only one I feel safe with. I have no one but you. No one in this family accepts me but you and my grandmother. Don't leave me!" She pleaded with great urgency.

Many emotions stirred inside Kellan. His heart was pounding fiercely. This feeling had started when he first saw her in the car arguing with the guards, and over time it grew inside him, ignored. But her presence in his arms shattered all his defenses.

He let out a long sigh and held her closer, whispering a low tone only she could hear: "Don't be afraid, Lyra. I can't leave you. You have become my responsibility in every way."

Then he continued, joking in an attempt to lighten her mood: "I have nothing else to do but you since you arrived. Haven't you noticed I've even stopped going to the company and spend all my time sitting next to you, watching you, and having you sleep in the room next to mine?"

Then he continued seriously, inhaling the scent of her hair, and whispered deeply: "You are very important to me, Lyra."

She raised her eyes to him and looked at him questioningly, and Kellan completed his sentence with an answer that shocked her and made her feel the ground spinning beneath her:

"I love you."