Page 24 of Maar's Girl

I take a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest as I realize the moment of truth has finally arrived. There's no turning back now. "My name isn't Raaj," I confess, the words feeling heavy on my tongue as I force them out. My eyes remain fixed on the neon-lit skyline ahead, unable to face Alyssa's reaction. "It's Maar." The name, my true identity, hangs in the air between us, a revelation that could shatter everything we'vebeen through together. I grip the controls tighter, bracing myself for whatever comes next.

"What?" The confusion in her voice is palpable.

"I wasn't the soldier who saved you on Horus IV," I continue, my words tumbling out in a rush. "I was there, but... on the other side."

Alyssa's sharp intake of breath cuts through the hum of the engine. "What are you saying?"

I risk a glance at her, seeing the hurt and betrayal etched across her face. Her eyes, once filled with warmth and trust, now bore into me with a mixture of confusion and dawning horror. "I was sent to capture you," I confess, my voice barely above a whisper. The words taste bitter on my tongue, each syllable a reminder of my deception. "When I was injured in the chaos, I... I took the real Raaj's identity." I swallow hard, the weight of my actions pressing down on me like a physical force. "I saw an opportunity, and I seized it without thinking of the consequences. Without considering how it would affect you."

"No," she whispers, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's not possible."

"It's true," I say, my voice heavy with regret. "My mission was to kill you."

The silence that follows is deafening, broken only by the whine of our straining engine and the distant blasts from our remaining pursuer.

"Then why?" Alyssa finally asks, her voice barely audible. "Why didn't you?"

I swallow hard, my grip tightening on the controls. "Because I fell in love with you," I admit, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt you."

Alyssa's silence is more damning than any words could be. I focus on flying, on keeping us alive, even as my heart feels like it's being torn apart.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, not sure if she can even hear me over the chaos around us. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

CHAPTER 18

ALYSSA

"Ican't believe this," I whisper. "This is a nightmare."

The aircar whizzes through the Martian sky, its sleek form cutting through the thin atmosphere. I sit in the passenger seat, my body rigid, hands clenched into fists on my lap. The man next to me, the one I thought I knew, the one I thought I loved, is a stranger.

"Alyssa, please," Maar says, his voice low and pleading. "Let me explain."

I turn my head, staring out the window at the red landscape below. "Explain what? How you lied to me? How everything was a sham?"

"Not everything," he insists. "What we have?—"

"We have nothing," I snap, cutting him off. My voice trembles, betraying the storm of emotions raging inside me. "You were sent to kill me, Raaj. Or I should call you Maar? I don't even know anymore."

He sighs, his hands tightening on the controls. "Maar. My name is Maar."

"Right. The criminal. The liar." I laugh bitterly. "The man I fell in love with doesn't exist."

"He does," Maar says softly. "He's right here."

I shake my head, fighting back tears. "No. The man I knew was honorable. He saved my life on Horus IV."

"I couldn't go through with it," he admits. "I was supposed to capture you, but when I saw you... something changed."

"Oh, how romantic," I spit out. "You decided not to kidnap me. Should I be grateful?"

“I killed your bodyguard while you were getting on the shuttle, and yes I was coming to kidnap you that day. But when I saw you enter the shuttle I saw you for you.” Maar's jaw clenches.

“Why didn’t you do it?” I ask.

“I felt something,” he says. “Something that stopped my hand. I knew then that I couldn’t hurt you like I had been sent to. I had to protect you. I knew the Odex battalion was coming. I had to hold them off.”

“So it was actually you that did that? Held off the Odex while the shuttle left?”

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