Page 130 of The Obedient Lie
“No,” I cut him off, gently. “Don’t. Please.”
My eyes flicked to Bastion.
“Don’t make me say it again.”
I turned and left. I didn’t look back.
Chapter Thirty-Three
BASTION
The door clicked shut.
Neither of us moved.
The silence she left behind wasn’t heavy anymore.
It wasn’t suffocating or sharp.
It just…was.
Luca was still staring at the door like he expected her to walk back in.
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, watching the way the corners of his mouth twitched.
And then he laughed.
Soft at first—almost like a breath—then louder.
Like he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
I cracked a grin. Couldn’t help it.
It pulled slow across my face, unfamiliar and fucking addictive.
Becauseholy shit.
She just walked out on us.
After spilling her heart, after telling us we weren’t the same, after admitting she felt something forbothof us.
She walked out with her chin high and her voice shaking, but steady.
And I’d never wanted someone more in my life.
“She knows,” Luca said, his voice full of something I hadn’t heard ever.
Hope.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “She does.”
“She actually knows.”
I leaned back into the couch, head hitting the top of it with a softthud.
My chest felt light.
My ribs still burned from the way my heart had twisted when she started talking—but now it felt different.
