Page 94 of Loving the Liar

“Leave me alone,” I hiss.

He gives me space when I slap his hand. The one trying to wipe the tears falling down my face.

And thankfully he stays quiet. Without a word, he puts his clothes on, runs a hand through his hair, and takes the empty glass from my bedside table.

“No!” I panic when he leaves the room. I rearrange the bathrobe, rushing to cover myself and practically cut off my breath as I tighten the belt around my waist. “Don’t go to the kitchen. Alex wakes up really early. She’s probably down there.”

His eyebrows pull together slightly in that stupidly cute way when he’s confused. “Why is that a problem?”

“She’ll think we had sex or something, idiot.”

He pinches his lips together, but that’s not enough to hide his mocking smile, so he runs a hand against his mouth before he collects himself. “We did have sex…or something.”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I stride on shaky legs before snatching the glass from him with my left hand and pointing at my window with the right.

“Window. Out. Now.”

He lets out a sharp laugh. “I’m out of love hearts, and you need sugar. I wanted to get you a glass of orange juice. I’m not going anywhere until I’ve done that. Then we can discuss my exit.”

“No.” I shake my head because my words rarely stick to his brain. “No aftercare. I don’t want this from you. I’m not giving you any more from me.”

He takes his time mulling over what I said. Reaching for a lock of my messy blonde hair, he rolls it around his index finger and tugs slightly.

“Don’t deny me.”

A calm order. A soft threat.

And since he doesn’t want to hear me, as usual, I have to slap him with a truth bomb I can barely acknowledge myself.

“Chris, I told you to leave me alone. What we did yesterday…today.” I gulp, bringing a hand to my chest. “That was wrong. So wrong. Megan…”

Like a soldier ready for war, his face tenses. As if confronted with the name of the enemy. I recognize the effect it has on him. I used to feel the same when someone talked about my father.

“You seem to forget you’re an Aphrodite, Ella. Megan a Hera. And I’m a Shadow. I get to use you, and Megan gets to shut up.”

My heartbeat doubles from the brutality of his statement. He reminded me of my place in our hierarchy with a few words. “That doesn’t mean it’s right to…” It feels wrong on my tongue, and I can’t manage to say it.

“To cheat? I can take that blame easily, without any remorse.”

I can’t hide my surprise. This doesn’t sound like him. Cheating is the last thing I would expect a man like Chris to do.

“Does that have anything to do with the deal you have with her?”

He pauses, looks deep into my eyes, and his features soften. “It would do you good to forget about what you think you heard, Sweets. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it would keep you safe.”

I startle when his phone rings, the sound cutting through the tension in the room.

Chris lets go of me, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he takes his phone out of his pocket. My lungs feel like they’re swallowing water when I catch the name on the screen.

Megan.

He keeps his eyes on me, not even bothering greeting her as he picks up. Her voice is like a hissing snake. It’s not loud, but I hear it so clearly even though the phone isn’t on speaker. She’s furious, spitting poison through her fangs.

“You had a birthday party and didn’t invite me? And then you didn’t fucking come home?”

“Sounds like what happened.”

I can’t seem to associate Chris’s current tone with the man I know. His voice is empty like his soul is completely separated from the conversation.

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