Chapter 22

Lyra pushed Stellan back hard and retreated several steps, her gaze cold. She typed a line into her phone and showed it to him. "Mr. Layman, you've got me confused with someone else. I don't know any Celine. I'm Lyra." Stellan stared at the words, his heart aching as if pricked by a needle. As Lyra turned to leave, he seized her wrist. "No, you are Celine. Your face might be different, but your gaze and the way you go silent around me and Noel… it all adds up. I'm not wrong. You're Celine. Please, stop running away from me." His voice was desperate as he sank to his knees, looking up at Lyra with red-rimmed eyes. "Celine, I know you hate me. I know you blame me… So, hit or yell at me. Do whatever you need to… "For two years, I haven't gone a single day without regret, without punishing myself… Everyone told me you were dead, but I refused to believe it. I searched for you like a madman…" Stellan lifted his head, his expression stripped bare with pain. "Celine, do you understand?