Page 138 of Loving the Liar

“Reeves,” I answer without hesitation.

“No,” she insists. “What was the name on the invite?”

“Hades. That’s Reeves.” Does she have to make it so stupidly complicated?

She presses her lips together, because I think she wasn’t sure about this one, and I just gave her the answer she needed.

“See,” she explains, “I thought Reeves invited you too. Because when you showed me your invite, it was signed Perseus.”

It takes me a moment to understand and remember what happened that night. And then I realize she’s right. I was talking to a girl, and we exchanged invites to look at who had signed them. Then Megan arrived and took the invite I was holding. The invite signed Perseus.

“Reeves is called Perseus in the Circle,” Megan continues. “That’s why I pointed at him when I told you he was the one who invited you. But then a few weeks later, I overheard him say he had refused to send you a card to be initiated. And that’s when I thought something was wrong. But I had no way of being sure until I asked you the name on your invite.”

“I don’t understand.” I rack my brain, trying to put two and two together.

“Amanda,” she calls behind her. “Turn on the TV, will you?”

Another Hera walks to a screen on the wall. Megan looks at me and discreetly adds, “Amanda is Reeves’s Hera. But I didn’t tell her about how you let him fuck you for good grades before you became an official whore.”

I ignore her, focusing on the screen coming to life. I see a video feed to the Shadows’ library, where ten or so men are talking, drinking, and smoking cigars.

“We don’t get to go in or hear what they’re saying, but we’re welcome to look at our Shadows,” Megan explains.

I notice right away that while Chris’s behavior shows that he’s eager to leave, he’s in a heated conversation with Achilles, and every time he tries to take a step toward the door, my best friend pushes him back with a hand on his chest. We have no way to truly know what they’re arguing about, but I can guess it has something to do with what happened earlier.

“Amanda.” Megan’s voice brings me back to reality. “Point at Hades for me.”

My heart is already beating out of my chest, harshly kicking against my ribs and making me feel lightheaded. It’s as if my body knows what’s about to happen, but my conscious mind refuses to see or accept it.

Amanda presses the screen, her perfectly manicured finger right on Chris’s head, and my heart freefalls to my stomach. Megan was right. If I had been standing up, I would have probably fainted.

And I know it’s true. They’re not lying. But still…I don’t want to accept it.

“But…” I panic, my lips feeling numb from the blood draining from my face. “He refused my mom when she asked him to get me an invitation. I heard it. He tried to get my brother in. That was his plan. Not me, Luke. It was the Circle who put me in this situation because they refused my brother to initiate. And when…when he found me after the maze, he told me I shouldn’t be here.” My teary gaze moves from the screen to Megan. “It doesn’t make sense.”

She leans forward, putting a hand on my knee to pretend reassurance. “Ella,” she sighs. “Chris didn’t ask the Circle to invite Luke. They didn’t refuse because Chris never put his name forward.”

My vision narrows, ears ringing as pain tears through my chest.

“But…”

She shakes her head. “He wanted you to initiate. He just didn’t want you or your family knowing it was coming from him, so I’m going to assume that’s why he refused your mother; because he already had a plan for you, and that’s why he said you shouldn’t be here when he found you after the maze. To keep you believing he wasn’t involved. But the truth is, Chris is Hades. He’s the one who sent you the invite, not Reeves.”

“How…” A single tear of betrayal rolls down my cheek, and I’m too weak to even wipe it away. “…could he do this to me?” I croak, looking Megan in the eye.

“Because he’s cunning and heartless. He wants you; I won’t deny that. He’d clearly go to great lengths to have you. But Chris needs you clueless and weak to manipulate you. You poor thing, handing it to him on a silver platter.”

My gaze drops to my lap. I’m scratching my thigh through my jeans. I notice tears crashing against the denim and only now realize I’m silently letting go of the pain.

“I don’t understand,” I rasp. I sniffle, focusing on my fingers desperately trying to get to my skin. “How someone who says he loves me could be so cruel.”

I look up at her, searching for answers in an enemy who wants nothing but my downfall, and I know she won’t offer comfort, but I’m past that now. I just want sincerity.

And it’s exactly what I get. Cold. Hard. Truth.

“I do,” she answers, completely detached from my situation. “I would do the same to have him.”

I wipe my face with the sleeve of my cardigan, shooting into a standing position as fury zaps through my spine. “Of course you do,” I hiss. “You’re as insane and controlling as he is. Have him, Megan. Marry him and spend the rest of your life with him. Just leave me the fuck alone. Both of you. I want nothing to do with either of you.”

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