Page 48 of The Obedient Lie
I was supposed to be incontrol.
Instead, I came back to the dorm, raw and simmering and stupid?—
and tore into the one person I should’ve protected.
Told her she’d ruined our lives.
That she was a reckless little golden girl with too much smile and not enough sense.
I said her kiss had destroyed everything?—
when the truth was, it had just destroyedme.
And then she stopped smiling altogether.
Stopped speaking unless she had to.
Stopped leaving any trace of herself in our space.
No perfume.
No cookies.
No fucking pink blanket.
That stupid, frilly, blush pink throw that used to drive me insane—how it clashed with our dark leather chairs and mahogany floors, how it made our room feel like some damn rom-com set.
Now I’dkillto see it draped on the arm of the couch.
I missed it.
I missedher.
And that realization made me want to punch a wall.
I took a breath and walked into the ensuite.
She was standing there, brushing her teeth, hair pulled back, wearing one of those oversized shirts she used to sleep in when she actuallyslepthere.
She didn’t even flinch at the sight of me anymore?—
just kept brushing like I didn’t exist.
When our eyes met in the mirror, she offered the smallest nod.
“I’ll be out in a sec.”
That was the other thing she did now?—
shrunk herself.
Got out of the way.
Like her presence in the house needed an apology.
I leaned against the doorframe, stared at the floor for a second before finding the words.
“I need to say something.”
