Page 109 of The Obedient Lie
“Take my spot,” he said roughly.
I blinked. “What?”
He nodded once, jaw locked. “Switch with me.”
I froze. “Bastion…”
“Now.”
My stomach twisted. I looked at her. Her body still curled against him, her cheek pressed to his thigh like it was the only thing she trusted in the room.
I shook my head, trembling. “I—I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I don’t want to hurt her.” My voice broke completely. “What if I can’t hold it in?”
“You won’t hurt her,” he said, quieter now. “Youneverdo.”
His voice dropped low, steady, the way it only got when we were seconds from snapping.
“Luca,” he said. “Take my spot.”
I shook my head. Backed up a half-step like the words had teeth.
“I don’t want to love her,” I said. My voice cracked, “Make it stop.”
Bastion didn’t flinch. Didn’t speak. Just kept his hand on her back, thumb stroking once over her spine like she was something breakable.
“It’s only been three months,” I whispered. “Three months and I—” I broke off, dragging a hand through my hair,tugging hard at the roots. “This isn’t real. This is just me being…me.”
I pointed at her.
Ather—curled against him like he was the last breath on earth.
“That’s what this is,” I muttered. “That’s just how I’m wired. I obsess. I latch on. I blur the lines between need and love and—fuck—ownership.”
Bastion stayed still. “You sure?” he asked finally, voice low.
I laughed once. Dry. Empty. “No. And that’s the fucking problem.”
I looked at her again. And suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “Fuck, I think I love her.”
There. I said it. I hated that I said it. And worse—I meant it.
Bastion didn’t blink. Didn’t nod. He didn’t need to. He alreadyknew.
“Take my spot,” he said again, quieter now. Like he was offering me a lifeline. Like he knew I wouldn’t take it.
And I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
I shook my head. “If you hate her… I’ll hate her.”
He didn’t respond.
