Page 224 of Dream On, Liar

I looked at her, and gave her a slow nod. “I hadn't planned on telling him.”

Something softened in her expression.

“But he's always been able to tell when I'm lying. So it just came out. I’d been think about telling him for a while, so it felt right.”

Her expression turned somewhere between shock and disbelief. “You're serious.”

“Dead fucking serious.”

She gave a breathless laugh. “I can't believe you.”

“Join the club.”

“Why in the world would you do that?” She shook her head. “I tell you I don't date cricketers, and you go straight to my father and tell him you're willing to quit cricket?”

My eyes widened. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I did not say that.”

She stopped. “You didn't?”

I shook my head. “No.”

The rain was falling properly now, cold against my skin.

“I told him I loved you.” I stared softly. “And if loving you meant giving up the sport so I could give you the future you imagined for yourself…I would.”

Her eyes widened. “You're lying, right? You did not say that to him!”

“I mean, I told him that I wanted to take this year slower to recover, and when he asked why, I told him about…well, you. And the rest just came out.”

She looked like someone had taken the air out of her.

“And I also told him that if you rejected me after all that, I probably wouldn't come back.”

Her expression changed. “Why?”

I laughed softly. “Because imagine having to work beside someone after confessing your love and getting rejected.”

She shook her head. “That would be humiliating.”

“Exactly.” I smiled faintly. “It’s probably a good think I achieved all the goals one can in a sport, because if I go now, no one would question it. Just mark it as an early end. Like you had. Plus, I couldn't decide which would be worse. Losing you or having to face you every day after you told me I was a liar, again.”

A tear slipped down her cheek.

I frowned immediately. “Hey.”

She wiped at it.

Another followed.

The rain hit her face so heavily now that I couldn't tell where the water ended and her tears began.

I moved closer, cupping her cheeks. “Why are you crying, chaos?”

She laughed, except the sound broke halfway through.

“Because I love you too.”

Everything inside me went still. She looked at me through the rain.