Chapter 96 — An Assassination Attempt
"I love you," Cynthia whispered, her voice carrying a lingering hint of affection.
Lucian’s brows furrowed in disbelief.
"W-What?" he managed to say, his tone dropping to a near whisper, his eyes widening as if he had just received the biggest shock imaginable.
"I said—"
"Don’t." He raised his hand, shaking his head as disbelief washed over him. She was obviously lying. Nothing about her felt real. Her kind behavior, her smiles, even her words—all of it seemed like a cruel illusion. For a moment, he had almost fallen for her act.
"Your Highness," Cynthia stepped closer, fists clenched in anxiety. Had she messed things up? Was she mistaken? Did he not have any feelings for her yet? She believed that somewhere beneath his armor, he had begun to feel something other than hatred.
"Will you stop playing these games?! What are you so afraid of that you can’t even tell me the truth? Are you desperate to keep lying to my face, resorting to such tricks? I thought you asked me to trust you. For that, you need to trust me as well, and speak honestly instead of adding more distrust between us!"
The anger in his voice sent shivers down Cynthia’s spine. It felt as though everything had reverted to square one; he hated her even more than before. Perhaps he had noticed her lies from the very beginning but had chosen to overlook them.
"I need to stick by my words," she reminded herself, refusing to surrender to his accusations just yet. She had to gather every ounce of strength to find the courage to voice those three words.
In her past life, she had never managed to utter those words, fearing that his hatred would only intensify and that he would cast her out of the mansion before anything could blossom between them.
"Do you still hate me?"