Lemira took a beat to process his words. "You're completely overthinking this."

After hanging up, she found herself stressing over the situation.

Did she really have to be the one to reach out to Orion?

She couldn't help but cringe at the memory of their last encounter, where she had literally ordered him out of her car.

And the time before that? She had straight-up punched him in the face.

At the time, she was completely consumed by the betrayal of his lies. She never anticipated she'd actually need his help so soon.

Well, the old proverb was right—always leave a little room for grace, because you never know when you'll cross paths again.

Lemira was agonizing over the decision. Should she call him or not?

She was entirely torn.

By the time she drove back to campus, her mood had thoroughly tanked.

Stella Waverly noticed her sour expression immediately. "What's wrong? Did you hit

a wall with the lawsuit?"

"Not exactly a wall, but it's complicated."

Lemira gave her a rundown of the morning's disastrous prison visit.

Stella shrugged, looking unfazed. "That's not a huge deal. Just ask Orion directly. Didn't he already promise to be your star witness?"

"Yeah, but back then, I didn't know *he* was the witness."

Lemira rubbed her temples, looking absolutely conflicted. "Things ended on a really bad note between us. Even though I know he wasn't the mastermind behind the crash, just seeing his face makes me furious."

She slumped back in her chair, a sheepish look crossing her face. "I know I'm probably being unreasonable."

But she had done it anyway.

Stella studied her closely. "You're only acting this way because you know you can get away with it. You know Orion is entirely devoted to you, which is why you feel completely safe lashing out at him."

"I don't know how to explain it. But until this lawsuit is settled and the dust clears, I just can't be with him."

Stella pulled Lemira into a warm hug. "I get it. He lied to you for months. You have every right to be angry."

Lemira sighed, leaning into her friend. "But now I need him to testify, and I have no idea how to even approach him."

"That's the easiest part. I'll just have Caleb pass the message along."

Just then, Janice yawned loudly and threw open the dorm curtains, clearly having just woken up.

Stella nodded confidently. "Yeah, this is an easy fix."

Lemira looked at Stella with profound gratitude. "Thank you."

Stella immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Caleb. A phone call was the most efficient way to handle this.

She quickly outlined the situation. Caleb paused on the other end. "Why doesn't she just ask him herself?"

"Just do me a favor and make the call, okay?"

Downstairs, Caleb was sitting on a

bench outside the dorms, He glariced up at the balcony do ft

on

e condition. Dinner tonight, just

the two of us."

Stella's face flushed scarlet. "You're a menace."

"Tsk. It's just dinner. How does that make me a menace? It's not like I'm asking you

to move in with me."

Stella hung up on him immediately.

Chuckling softly, Caleb dialed Orion's number and relayed Stella's message.

Orion went silent for a moment. "Why go through all these hoops?"

"Right? I will never understand how women's brains work."

Caleb knew damn well that if Lemira asked Orion to jump right now, Orion would just ask how high.

Orion sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I gave her my word that I would testify."

"Look, you lied to her, and now the

Everhart family is tangled up in this mess. It's totally normal that she

n't trust you. If I were in her

deesht

shoes, I wouldn't believe a word you said either."

To Caleb, deception was a fundamental breach of trust. He didn't blame Lemira for keeping her distance.

Orion clenched his jaw. "I would never lie to her about this."

"Great. I'm taking the girls out to dinner tonight. You two can hash it out in person."

Orion hesitated. "She went through you just to send a message. You think she actually wants to see my face?"

"If the mountain won't come to

Muhammad, Muhammad must go

to the mountain. I'm handing you the

perfect setu

on a silver platter

Take it