Even good girls lie—especially when they have to. But now wasn't the time to drop poetic truth bombs.
I swallowed the guilt down like it was spoiled wine and flashed Malphas my most innocent smile — the one that screamed "Who, me?" as sweetly as sin.
He caressed my cheek with fingers that felt more like tree trunks than affection. I leaned into it, laid my head against his chest, and let him press a kiss to my hair. Internally, I was screaming. Outwardly, I sighed like I'd just come home to my doting psychopath.
"I love you," I said, biting my lip in that coquettish way he liked. Lie number one of the night.
"I love you too, my little goddess," he murmured, pulling back just enough to plant a chaste kiss on my lips.
I took two steps back the moment he let go, dropped my gaze, and ment
