Page 8 of Taming the Lion
His mouth opens, but no words come out. Good. He doesn’t get to explain himself. Not yet. I want him to feel the full weight of what he’s done.
“How long?” I spit, each word dripping with the rage and pain that’s been building inside me since I overheard him. “How long have you been playing me? Was any of it real? Or was I just part of your investigation?”
“Sophia, wait?—”
“Don’t!” I cut him off, my voice trembling now. I hate how vulnerable I sound, how raw this makes me feel. “Don’t act like I’m overreacting. I trusted you, Alex. I let you in.”
His face pales, and for a moment, I think he’s going to deny it, but then he sighs, running a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping under the weight of the truth. “You’re right,” he says quietly, and the admission slices through me. “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
I scoff, the sound bitter in my throat. “That’s an understatement.”
“I’m an undercover detective,” he continues, his eyes meeting mine, steady, but filled with regret. “I was sent here to investigate the thefts. The missing animals, including Rajah. That’s why I’m here.”
I feel the ground drop out from under me. Every moment, every touch, every time I let myself believe there was something real between us—it all feels like a lie now. My chest tightens, and I can barely breathe through the anger and hurt twisting inside me.
“So, what? You just got close to me to make your job easier?” I step closer, my voice shaking with the force of everything I’m holding back. “You thought I’d be some easy mark? Some fool you could manipulate?”
“No, Sophia, it’s not like that,” he says quickly, reaching out, but I pull back, glaring at him. “Please, listen to me. I never wanted to hurt you. Yes, I came here for the investigation, but what I feel for you—it’s real. I swear it.”
I laugh, but it’s cold, empty. “Real? You think anything about this has been real?” I take another step back, putting more distance between us, because the closer I am to him, the harder it is to think straight. “You’ve been lying this whole time, Alex. To my face. How am I supposed to believe a single word out of your mouth now?”
He looks like I’ve just punched him in the gut, but I don’t care. I can’t care. If I let myself feel any sympathy for him right now, I’ll break. And I refuse to break for him.
“Sophia, I know I’ve made mistakes, but I swear to you, everything I’ve said, everything I’ve felt—none of that was a lie. I didn’t expect this to happen between us. I didn’t expect to care about you like this.”
I want to believe him. God, do I want to believe him. But I can’t. The trust we were building, the connection I thought we had—it’s all crumbling, shattered by the truth of who he really is.
I shake my head, my throat tight, the anger giving way to something more painful. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time. You don’t get to say you care about me.”
He steps forward, his eyes pleading. “Sophia, please, don’t shut me out. I can explain everything. I can?—”
“No.” My voice is firm, final. “You don’t get to explain anymore. I’m done listening to your lies.”
The hurt in his eyes is almost enough to make me falter, but I force myself to stay strong. I’ve let myself be vulnerable before, and I’ve always paid the price for it. I won’t let that happen again.
“I’m going to protect Zeus and the circus without you,” I say, my tone colder than I feel. “You can finish your investigation, but I want nothing to do with it. Or you.”
“Sophia—”
“Don’t.” I turn my back on him, walking away before the cracks in my armor start to show. I can feel his eyes on me, feel the weight of everything we’ve lost between us, but I can’t stop. If I stay, if I listen to him, I’ll start to question everything. And I can’t afford to question anything right now.
Not when the danger is closing in around us.
Not when I know the only person I can rely on is myself.
I storm back to Zeus’s enclosure, my safe haven, the only place that doesn’t feel like it’s closing in on me. The moment I reach the fence, I grab the bars, my knuckles white, my heart still hammering in my chest. The anger, the betrayal—it’s boiling under my skin, making me want to scream, cry, punch something, anything, just to release the tension clawing at my insides.
How could I have let this happen? How did I let Alex get so close?
Zeus pads over, his massive paws silent against the dirt as he watches me, his golden eyes calm, curious. I envy that calmness, the way he always seems unbothered by the chaos around him. I let out a breath, forcing myself to loosen my grip on the bars, but it does nothing to ease the storm inside me.
I pace in front of his cage, my mind racing, replaying everything that just happened with Alex. Every word, every look, every touch that felt so real. I feel foolish now, like a girl who let herself be swept up in a fantasy. I should have known better. Idoknow better.
But I let my guard down.
I let him in.
And now, I’m paying the price.
