She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 663

One year later.

Pip Jameson's first birthday party had been a spectacular, star-studded affair. A whole month after the event, candid photos from the party were still circulating online, with netizens flooding the comments to gush over how adorable the baby was.

In the photos, little Pip was often caught happily gnawing on his tiny fists, looking utterly innocent and sweet. His clear, dark eyes were a perfect copy of Lyra's, while the rest of his features—his brow, nose, and lips—were the spitting image of Rowan's.

In the faculty office, one of Kayla's colleagues couldn't help but sigh. "Kayla, Lyra's son is just too cute."

Kayla knew these colleagues were desperate for an excuse to network with Lyra. The Jameson Group sat at the absolute pinnacle of the local business world, a true elite dynasty. Many people had tried to use Kayla as a backdoor connection to secure an invitation to the estate.

But Kayla had quietly and firmly declined every single request.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Seeing an unknown number flash on the screen, a jolt of anxiety hit her.

She hurried outside to answer. Waylon Grayson's voice came through the line. "Kayla, I've lost everything."

Her heart seized. "Don't... don't do anything stupid," she pleaded, panic edging her voice.

Ever since his plot to sabotage the construction site and assassinate Rowan had been exposed—along with several other dark secrets she couldn't even fathom—Waylon had fled the country in disgrace. For weeks, he had been hiding like a rat overseas, a far cry from the arrogant, high-flying CEO he once was.

The man on the other end sounded utterly defeated. "I only have you left, Kayla. The truth is... in our past life, you were my wife."

"I was reborn."

...

The next day, Lyra visited a high-end baby boutique. She bought a mountain of daily essentials for Pip, and while passing the toddler section, she spotted some incredibly soft, adorable outfits and impulsively bought a few sets for her nephew and niece.

She drove to the university where Kayla taught, planning to drop the clothes off in person.

Aside from two bodyguards, Andrea Nash stayed practically glued to Lyra's side.

When Kayla saw Lyra approaching, her expression was noticeably tense. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Lyra lifted the elegant shopping bags, offering a warm smile. "I was passing by the mall and picked up some outfits for Colin and Zara. Since your campus was closer than the house, I figured I'd drop them off here."

Kayla stared at the bags, her voice hoarse. "Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you."

It was then that Lyra noticed the heavy, dark circles under Kayla's eyes. She looked haggard, completely drained of life by whatever was weighing on her mind. Lyra's chest tightened. "What's wrong, Kayla? Did Caleb do something to upset you?"

Kayla just shook her head. "Let's go sit at the coffee shop next door."

Andrea's gaze lingered on Kayla for a sharp, assessing moment.

They found a quiet spot in the nearby café.

It was mostly empty. The bodyguards swept the private booth before stepping out, discreetly shutting the door behind them to give the women privacy.

"Is all this security really necessary?" Kayla asked.

Lyra gave a self-deprecating smile. "Waylon is still out there somewhere. Rowan is just being overly cautious."

Leaning across the table, her eyes swimming with desperate pleas, Kayla grabbed Lyra's wrist in a vise-like grip. "Lyra, please. I'm begging you. Can you go back and convince Rowan to let Waylon go? Just this once, please."

Pulling her hand away, Lyra felt as though she were moving underwater. She barely registered how she made it out of the coffee shop.

Sensing something was terribly wrong, Andrea slid into the car beside her and asked in a low voice, "Mrs. Jameson, what happened?"

Lyra just shook her head.

It felt like she had made a colossal mistake.

Her mind flashed back to a snowy day in her previous life. She remembered Kayla, heavily pregnant, stumbling through the biting cold, desperately begging for help to save the Fairchild family. She had been met with nothing but slammed doors, mockery, and cruel indifference.

That image was permanently seared into her soul.

She had gone to such great lengths to ensure Caleb married Kayla in this life, driven entirely by that profound guilt and heartbreak.

She had genuinely believed that giving Kayla a stable future and a happy, perfect family was the ultimate redemption.

But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that a few pathetic words of weakness from Waylon could so easily sway Kayla's heart.

Lyra buried her face in her hands, her chest tight with a suffocating weight. She felt worse than if she had just had her own heart broken. Utterly bewildered, she thought: How did everything go so wrong...

Was Kayla simply soft-hearted to her core, naturally wired to pity the broken and defeated?