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Her face turns to the side, her eyes fluttering shut. Pain etches itself slowly across her face, rippling over every single one of her features. I feel her wobble under the impact of my confession even as she struggles not to fall apart. I have a front row seat to the agony my betrayal causes.
Behind her, I can see Six crying. That’s how overwhelming the pain coming off of Nera is. It seeps around the room and penetrates every person’s chest, none as powerfully as it does mine. It strikes me so forcefully that it nearly takes me out at the knees.
“Your name isn’t Tristan?” her voice is disbelieving and raw with betrayal.
“No, no, it is,” I tell her, holding on to her nape and forcing her to look at me. “But my last name isn’t Novak.”
“Everything about him is a lie, Nera,” Thayer says.
“That’s not true,” I growl.
She pulls away and when I make a move to grab her, Phoenix grabs my arm and twists it easily behind my back.
“Fuck!” I scream.
“Who is he?” Nera asks of nobody and anybody at once.
Rogue reads from his phone. “Ironically, his name is TristanNoble. He’s the son of Alexander and Bettina Noble; Alexander is Chairman and CEO of The Noble Group which Tristan is set to inherit one day. I’m sure you’ve heard of it?”
Nera nods, despondently. “The media conglomerate. So, his parents aren’t teachers,” she adds, her voice shaking.
“No,” Rogue answers. “They’re billionaires.”
???
Chapter 42
Nera
Ifeel like I’m going to pass out. My head pounds under the assault of the information Rogue is dropping on me. My heart feels like it’s rending itself to pieces.
Tristan lied to me. About his name, his family, his career.
Abouteverything.
If he was willing to lie about that, what else did he lie about?
“Does he have a sister?” I hear myself ask.
Tristan tries to rush for me, but Phoenix’s hold on him keeps him from being able to move. He makes a pained groan, wincing as his shoulder twists unnaturally.
His eyes are haunted when they meet mine and so heavy with emotion that I can barely stand to look at them. He fights against Phoenix, roaring, his free arm reaching for me and coming up empty. Desperation twists his features and his jaw looks ready to snap. “I’ve never cheated on you, Nera.”
I look at Rogue. When he nods, a frayed breath rattles up my throat and falls from my lips. “Yes, one sister. Tess.”
I hate that I’m relieved. It doesn’t fucking matter.
I turn back towards Tristan.
“Explain yourself.”
It takes everything in me not to overreact. Not to run at the first sign of trouble, but to choose to stay instead.
He swallows thickly, his expression broken by anguish. His eyes are beseeching, begging me to understand.
“I fucked up. I’ve been fucking up for a long time and I’m so sorry that I caught you up in my mess, it was never my intention. I always meant to tell you the truth,” he swears.
“Explain,” I repeat, harder this time.
