“W-Why didn’t you just say it?”
“Why didn’t you say it first?”
The silence that followed didn’t surprise him.
Of course, there was nothing for her to say since all she had done was lie—
“B-Because I was too proud and terrified.”
The words caught him off guard, and her stilted tone had his grip on her waist tightening involuntarily.
“But n-not anymore.”
And that was when she did something that was not part of the program. Tiara digging her heels in, forcing him to stop.
“I know it’s six years too late,” she said shakily, “but nothing’s changed for me.”
Damn her.
Did she really think all she had to do was say those words like she meant it, and she would once again have him eating from the palm of her hand?
“I love you, Arkane.”
Damn her. Damn her. Damn her.
“I’ve always been—”
Arkane cupped her face and kissed her.
He kissed her to shut her up. Kissed her because he couldn’t bear hearing her lie to him again. But the moment he had another taste of her lips—
It was like...finding home again, even when he knew this was all a lie.
And when she started crying again as she kissed him back?
Arkane also knew that she believed all was forgiven, and everything was going to be fine.
But she was wrong.
Because this time, he was going to make Tiara fall for him fast and hard...before crushing her heart into pieces.
He would destroy her...the way she had destroyed him six years ago.