Hidden Within [BOOK 1] | ✔️

False reminisce

flawedfry
|•fam for life•|

Pulling off her ankle boots, she sighed and leaned into the soft headrest of her chair. A tingling sensation coursed from the back of her neck to her head. Lyra massaged it with the back of a hand, the pressure helping to numb the pain. She was deep under the wings of procrastination, the Elite program was to be put into action within a matter of six weeks, yet she hadn't completed or backed up most of the candidates' data packs. Lyra rolled over to her side, awkwardly turning her data recorder on. The screen flashed green, the light burning her retinas.

"Oh God, it's dark in here," she muttered to herself as she walked towards the window and removed the curtains. Lyra preferred curtains over blinders, she found them more sophisticated, even though they had become obsolete.

Lyra crawled back into her chair, the urge to sleep was overpowering, but she knew she had work to do.

"Come on." She lightly slapped her cheeks before opening a bottle of water and spraying some on her face. "You have work to do." The water stung her eyes but woke her up just enough.

Last night, Lyra had overheard her parents, she wasn't eavesdropping, they were just too loud.

"So, you don't think Lyra is capable of anything? Just like me?" snarled Olivia. "She's just another burden in your life like me?"

"Don't be so dramatic, Via. I love you both but you women just trust people too much," Ekon replied. "Candace doesn't deserve your trust, especially Lyra's. Believe me, I know."

"Oh, you know nothing!" She spat at him. "Just because you two have some sort of hidden past, doesn't mean she's evil. If anything, she is better than most humans in this world. She took me into her home, as well as Lyra, and gave us everything. Every—"

"Via, we have a dark past, yes, but it was dark enough to make me hate her for life." Ekon approached her, he put his hands on her shoulders, which tensed under his grip. "She stole everything I had. Cortex, was my company, my hard work. She told me it had no future unless I gave it to her. I trusted her, I thought she'd take me to the top, but all she did was make her own name. Via, please, believe me. I'm helpless."

"I...I believe you." Olivia whispered. "I do. But what about the affair?"

"Argh! Lyra! Concentrate!" She scolded herself. "You have to work!"

Lately, Lyra couldn't sleep, she had enough on her plate already. Her suspicions against Candace were much worse, they slithered under her skin, and into the darkest corners of her mind. She pulled herself out of her convoluted thoughts and focused on the work at hand.

A red dot flashed on the left of her screen; a message from Candace. She rolled her eyes and opened it, Candace was starting to irritate her, her way of thinking always played with Lyra's head. Mind games. She'd call them.