Lyra Cross

Liam Smith opens the door of his home and steps outside with his brilliant colleague, Lyra. "Liam, I love you so much. Thank you," she tells him, hugging him as he gently kisses her head. Both look happy. After two hours inside his house, Lyra finally secured her dream promotion. She presented her architectural project for the new Vance Tower complex at Apex Design—a promotion earned through three months of hard work. Liam is their close friend and best man at her wedding, viewing Lyra purely as a sister and his best friend's wife, making her "I love you" strictly sibling-like. It is all a terrible misunderstanding; Lyra and Liam never had an affair, but her husband had been watching outside for two hours, assuming the worst-case scenario. "You haven't told me 'I love you' in two years," her husband says with deep pain, stepping out from the dark. Lyra and Liam freeze. "Honey, what are you doing here?" Lyra asks, terrified. "I wanted to see why you're always with Liam. Now I know... you love him. You just told him. How long have you two been sleeping together?" he asks with a trembling voice. Lyra is shocked. "No, it's not what you think!" Liam intervenes: "Bro, Lyra came here strictly for the project. She earned her promotion on her own merit. Nothing happened between us." Her husband smiles bitterly. "Yeah, she earned it in your bed, Liam." Rage overtakes Lyra. She steps forward and slaps her husband hard. "How dare you!" she screams. But seconds later, she realizes her horrific mistake. Without another word, her husband gets into his car and drives away. Lyra screams his name in vain. Shortly after, she returns home, deeply shaken, finding him waiting silently in the dark kitchen holding a glass of whiskey.