Page 52 of The Obedient Lie

But we didn’t sleep.

Not really.

Because it turns out, even if she stopped wearing rosewood perfume…

I still missed the way it used to linger.

And the way her smile used to make this room feel like something other than a prison.

I missed her voice.

It hit me one morning in class. The silence was worse than usual. Not because the lecture was dull—it always was—but because she wasn’t fidgeting. Wasn’t whispering. Wasn’t leaning across the desk to ask if I had a pen, or rolling her eyes when Bastion kicked her chair.

She just sat there.

Blank.

Numb.

Quiet.

And it fucking annoyed me.

Not because I wanted her to flirt or laugh or do that sunshine-smile bullshit that used to drive me mad—but because she’d gone quieton us. Like we didn’t exist. Like she could carve us out of her world the same way she carved herself out of ours.

So I did something about it.

Assignments were posted that day for the upcomingInterdynasty Diplomacy Project—something the academy forced every upperclassman to do. A glorified trust-building exercise meant to make the next generation of heirs play nice.

I didn’t wantnice.

I wanted her in my space again. Talking. Rolling her eyes. Fighting me.

So I pulled aside Professor Malrick after class. Didn’t threaten him. Didn’t need to. Just asked—quietly, firmly—if the pairings had been finalized.

He said no.

So I made it clear: Emilia Adams and I were to be assigned together.

The bastard smiled like he understood too much.

“Trouble in paradise?”

I didn’t answer.

When the official pairings were posted a few days later, I watched her eyes scan the list. Watched her shoulders stiffen. Her lips press together. Her fingers clench the edge of her book.

Then I saw it—that flicker of disbelief in her eyes. That slow blink, followed by the deadpan horror that looked an awful lot like the universe had personally offended her.

She looked up. Met my gaze from across the classroom.

I smirked.

And yeah—maybe I leaned back in my chair a little too casually. Maybe I stretched out like I was bored.

But inside?

I was watching the life return to her face.