Page 36 of The Obedient Lie

“You kissed me. In front ofeveryone. You didn’t ask. You didn’t even look back before you grabbed Luca and kissedhimtoo. You didn’t just burn your own life down — you draggedusinto the fire with you.”

The words hit like slaps.

Clean. Cold.

“You think wewantedthat?” he spat. “To be the twins that the Adams girl used for drama? You think we wanted every family talking, every one of our cousins whispering, every heir asking if weshare now?”

I couldn’t speak.

“And now we’re stuck. Sharing a room with you. With your pink blankets and your humming and your fucking—smell.”

He ran a hand through his hair, furious. “You ruined oursilence. You ruined theonly placewe had left.”

I felt my throat close.

He kept going.

“You walk around like you belong here. Like it’s a game. Like yourrecklesskiss didn’t cost us everything we worked for. You act like you’re helping — but you’re justin the way.”

My eyes blurred. I tried to blink it back.

Luca was still by the door.

Quiet. Watching.

But he didn’t stop him.

Not once.

Bastion took one more breath.

Saw me.Reallysaw me.

And paused.

His eyes flicked to my face.

Saw the glassiness. The tears. The ache I was trying so hard to swallow.

For a second, his expression faltered. But then he just grunted, turned, and walked toward the ensuite.

He slammed the door behind him.

The sound cracked somethinginsideme. I stood there for a long second, holding the coffee mug like it might keep me standing.

It didn’t. I set it down carefully. Picked up my jacket. Grabbed my phone.

And walked out the door.

Because he was right.

I was trained to be nice. To smile when I didn’t want to and brush off insults as if it was water. That was my life.

I wasn’t given a choice to give into my emotions or let my actions be my own. And the one time I did,the one time, I gave in. Reacted. This was the result.

No amount of being nice, would stop this semester being a living hell. I had tried to be nice, I had tried to pretend that this could work.

Now. I was just done.