At that moment, Lemira felt the air thicken with suffocating awkwardness.

She hadn't expected the elevator to still be on this floor. She must have forgotten to press the button, otherwise it should have been down in the basement parking garage by now.

Glancing sideways at her coworkers, she could easily read the varying expressions on their faces.

The next second, Orion seamlessly slipped his hand into hers. He looked up at the group waiting outside. "My apologies. My girlfriend was just playing a joke on me." Lemira tried to yank her hand back, but the bastard's grip was unrelenting.

As her coworkers filed into the tight space, she could only force a stiff, polite smile.

The ride down was painfully silent, though it was impossible to guess what was running through everyone's minds.

The doors finally dinged open at the basement level.

Her colleagues quickly shuffled out, heading off together toward their dinner reservations.

Lemira aggressively wrenched her hand free and stormed out, but the man followed right on her heels.

Marching over to her Standard SUV, she whipped around to glare at him. She was at the end of her rope, and her eyes sent a very clear message.

Orion simply braced one hand casually against her car door. "It's on my way. I'll ride with you."

"But I don't want to take you."

Seeing the genuine flash of anger in her eyes, his voice dropped low. "I know my stepmother came to see you. Can we talk?"

Lemira fell silent for a moment. Noticing her coworkers casting curious glances their way, she finally relented and climbed into the driver's seat.

Orion took the hint, settling into the passenger side. He glanced around the interior. "This Standard SUV feels a bit rugged for you."

Lemira kept her face entirely blank. "I like it."

Leaning back, he looked over at her. "If Amanda said anything out of line, don't take it to heart. You need to do what's best for you. Don't change your plans for anyone else."

"You really know how to make yourself sound noble, don't you?"

She regretted the sharp words the moment they left her mouth.

Orion kept his gaze steady on her profile. "What exactly did you two talk about?"

"Nothing much. Mrs. Amanda came to apologize, and she took the time to clear your name, insisting you were innocent. Poma stepmother she really is incredibly devoted to you."

Lemira kept the rest to herself. Amanda had sworn she would rather die than accept

a kidney from Mrs. Amelia, and that she would never do the Sinclair family any favors.

But to Lemira, words were just words.

Could anyone really face death with such absolute calm? And even if Amanda was willing to make that sacrifice, would the rest of the Everhart family actually allow it? Orion absorbed the information with a faint nod. "She really was good to me."

It was a simple truth. His own mother had passed away when he was young, and Amanda had genuinely filled that void in his life.

The silence in the car grew heavy.

Finally, Orion broke it. "Do you want to know what your parents said right before they died?"

Lemira tensed, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Tell me."

"When I rushed over to pull you out, the car was already reeking of gasoline and smoke. Your parents were desperately lifting you up from wreckage. They begged me

the wr

save you first."

It was a memory that haunted Orion's darkest nights, replaying behind his eyelids when he couldn't sleep.

Lemira pulled the SUV over to the curb. Her hands were shaking too much to keep driving.

She turned to look at him, her voice barely a whisper. "And then the car exploded. Right?"

"I only had enough time to get you clear. If I had even a fraction of a second more, I would have gone back for them."

Looking into his guilt-ridden eyes, Lemira knew he was telling the truth.

She gave a small nod. "So, that was the last thing they ever said?"

"Yes. But in that moment, their entire world was you. All they wanted was for you to live. You don't have to carry this guilt anymore. It was a premeditated murder not an accident. And it wasn't your fault."

Tears stung Lemira's eyes as she turned her face toward the window. "I know. I'm not going to blame myself."

She had blamed herself in the past, carrying the weight of their deaths on her shoulders.

And back then, Orion had been the one by her side, comforting her through the darkest moments.

Taking a deep breath to force the overwhelming grief back down, she looked at him again. "Is that it?"

Orion looked a little uncomfortable. "That's all of it."