Page 164 of The Obedient Lie
“I need to tell you two something.”
Everything in the room changed.
Luca’s grip stilled.
Bastion’s breath caught.
They didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
I turned, heart pounding, and saw it clearly — how fast their eyes had gone sharp.
How the trauma threaded through them like instinct.
“I told my brother.”
Silence.
“My brother,” I whispered again. “Alexander. I told him… about you two.”
They didn’t speak.
Bastion moved first — shoulders rolling like he was trying to shake something off. He stepped forward, eyes burning.
“What exactly did you tell him?”
My stomach tightened. “That I’m not confused. That this—” I gestured between them “—isn’t a phase. Or a mistake. That Ichoseyou. Both of you.”
Luca exhaled, stepping beside Bastion now, his jaw tense. “And what did he say?”
“He said…” I swallowed. “He said if I’m willing to burn bridges for you, I better know what I’m standing on. And he was grateful this phase was at the academy.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at that.
Bastion’s hand came up to my face. He held my jaw — gentle.
“And do you?” he asked. “Do you know what you’re standing on?”
“I think I’m standing between two men who have never been chosen first. And I wanted you to know that… I did. Ido.”
While I had a choice, I was theirs.
Luca stepped closer, resting his hand on my lower back.
“You told him.” His voice was quieter now. “You told your family.”
“I told them everything.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Just looked at me.
“You told them you’reours?”
I nodded.
Bastion stepped forward so fast I didn’t see his hand until it was already cupping my face.
“Good fucking girl.”
