Chapter 140 | Lyra + Food + Food = Forgiveness!
Dexter loaded the clean laundry into the heater and activated the drying cycle.
"Beep!"
The machine hummed to life as the clothes started to tumble.
As he turned to check the cycle, he saw Lyra walking past him.
She was carrying an empty plate, the one he had give her with pastries in it.
But currently, it was empty and she headed toward the kitchen sink.
She placed it in the sink without looking at him, then turned and walked back past him again.
Suddenly, a soft voice whispered in his mind like a mosquito’s whine.
’The pastries were good.’
Dexter’s eyebrows raised in surprise and he turned to look at her face.
The anger and coldness which was on her face all morning had already melted away.
The pastries and the Grade-3 Arcane tea seemed to haves worked.
Dexter smiled.
’They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,’ he thought. ’But whoever said that clearly never met Lyra.’
"So you’re finally talking to me," Dexter said in a light tone as he teased.
Lyra’s body stiffened. She blinked, then immediately turned to rush back to the living room,
"Wait," Dexter called out.
She stopped but didn’t turn around.
Dexter scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I know you’re still angry. And I’m sorry for worrying you. I know you didn’t want me to leave for the monster outbreak yesterday." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "But I had to go. Not just for the Association—I had personal reasons too. If I don’t grow stronger, I won’t be able to protect us. And the resources I need to grow stronger... I can only get them by fighting."
Lyra stood motionless with her back turned to him. Several long seconds passed.
Then, her soft, melodic voice echoed inside his mind.
’I know.’
Dexter blinked, frowning slightly. "So why are you still angry?"
Lyra remained silent for a while as her fist clenched tightly. Her tone thick with accusation as she spoke.
’You promised to come back safely. But you came back covered in blood instead. You broke your promise.’
Dexter was momentarily stunned.
’That was why she was angry?’
She wasn’t mad that he had chosen the Hero Association over staying home.
She was mad because he had ’promised’ to come back safely, and he hadn’t.
He had broken his word. And to Lyra, who had already been abandoned by everyone she had ever depended on, a broken promise was just as bad as a betrayal.
’And Selene almost died. If you hadn’t come back when you did...’
Dexter remained silent. She was right of course.
He had promised to come back safely, and he hadn’t. And in his excitement and urgency, he had forgotten to inject Selene’s suppressant serum before leaving.
Both failures were his. Both were avoidable. And both had been witnessed by three women who had already lost everything once and couldn’t bear to lose again.
Lyra shook her head, her expression closing off again. ’Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’
She turned to leave.
"It matters a lot."
Dexter’s voice was quiet but firm. Lyra stopped.
"It matters a lot, Lyra," he took a step closer.
"I can’t change what happened. But I can tell you that I’m sorry and I promise to keep my promise to you. Next time, I will come back safely."
Lyra stood frozen for a long moment.
Then, slowly, her shoulders dropped. The rigid tension in her spine softened. She turned her head slightly, just enough to glance at him from the corner of her eye.
’Promise?’ her mental voice asked. It was small, stripped of all its usual composure, sounding almost childlike in its vulnerability.
Dexter nodded as he thumped his chest. "Promise."
She turned even more as she faced Dexter and stared into his eyes.
There was silence for a few seconds and then Lyra lips curled up to a small smile.
Her dark soul-consuming eyes started to light up as she returned to the usual expression. She blinked and stared at Dexter.
Dexter immediately knew she had forgiven him and when he saw her expectant gaze.
Dexter couldn’t help it. He laughed.
He flipped his right hand, and golden light flashed as four Celestial Moon Pastries materialized in his palm.
He had planned to give her two, but seeing the look in her eyes, he added two more.
Lyra’s eyes widened as her pupils dilated.
Her mouth fell open slightly, and for a moment, she looked like a child who had just been handed the keys to a candy store.
In a flash, she reached out and took the pastries from his hand with both hands, cradling them against her chest like precious treasures.
Then, without another word, she turned and practically ’skipped’ away down the hallway,
’Thank you!’ her siren voice echoed in his mind.
Dexter chuckled as he watched her disappear around the corner. He shook his head, still smiling.
He had known Lyra wouldn’t stay mad at him for long. She was a foodie through and through.
’Jasmine was like that too,’ a thought surfaced unbidden in his mind.
The name hit him like a soft punch to the chest.
Jasmine Constance. His ex-girlfriend.
Another foodie with an almost bottomless appetite and a smile that could light up a room.
The parallels between Jasmine and Lyra were uncanny—both quiet, both emotionally guarded, both absolutely ravenous when it came to exceptional food.
A warm, bittersweet feeling bloomed in Dexter’s chest. The memories of Jasmine—both the good and the painful—rose to the surface of his mind like bubbles in still water.
He let them linger for a moment, acknowledging them without drowning in them.
Then, deliberately, he pushed them to the back of his mind.
He wasn’t going to think about Jasmine. Not now. Not when he had three wives who needed him. Dwelling on the past would only complicate the present, and the present was already complicated enough.
He turned back to the drying machine and checked the cycle.