Page 27 of The Obedient Lie
Charlotte blinked. “They’reCrowboys.”
“And?” I tilted my head. “You mean they’re like everyone else here.”
Vivienne scoffed, but there was an edge to it. “Oh, come on. They’re practically feral. You’ve seen the way they look at people.”
I met her gaze without blinking. “Yes. I have.”
“Pity they’re psychopaths. Straight from the old age of bloodlines built for violence.” Charlotte added with a smirk, toying with the edge of her fork like it was a blade she’d learned to wield since birth.
“They were bred for war,” Vivienne added. “Not decision-making. You ever look one of them in the eye? It’s like staring into a coffin. Velvet-lined, sure. But still a coffin.”
My body went still. I didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.
“So what’s it like living in their house?”
Charlotte leaned forward now, her voice dipped in casual cruelty.
“Cold.”
And I gave them the truth.
Vivienne tilted her head, just slightly.
“They don’t talk unless they have to,” I said. “They move like they’re trained to disappear. And they hate me.”
That made them pause.
“They what?” Vivienne frowned.
“They hate me,” I repeated. “Which is fine. Refreshing, even. At least they say it to my face.”
Charlotte’s brows lifted, just a touch. Vivienne blinked.
“No smiles. No charm. No pretending to like me at brunch just to plot something else behind my back,” I said. “Theydon’t hide who they are. That’s more honest than most people I’ve met at this school.”
Silence slid between us.
Then Charlotte gave a breath of a laugh. “So you’d rather be hated by Crows than loved by heirs?”
“I’d rather know where I stand,” I said calmly. “The Crow family doesn’t pretend. That’s more than I can say for anyone else in this room.”
And I didn’t look away.
Because the truth was — they were right.
The twins were born from violence.
Vivienne leaned back slowly in her chair, eyeing me like I was a puzzle she hadn’t finished solving.
Charlotte, meanwhile, just twisted the ring on her finger. A slow rotation. A tell.
“So, what…” she drawled, “you’re defending them now?”
“No,” I replied, too quickly. Then again, slower. “No. I’m not.”
Vivienne arched a brow.
“I’m just not lying about them. That’s all.”
