GALLERY OF SINS

Prologue

It has been the craziest few months of my life, but I didn't think it would all end this tragically.

His words echo in my head, sending chills through my body. Only this time, not in a very good way. He's so silently still behind me that I worry he might hear my heart thundering in my chest.

I stay still, facing away from him and using my palms to balance my own weight on the cool surface of his desk. I feel him take a single step closer to me before he asks again.

“I will ask you again. Who…are…you?”

He picks each word menacingly, seething with anger.

I can feel his eyes burning holes into the back of my head, daring me to turn around. I am questioning myself, feeling mixed emotions of guilt and regret surge through me.

“Arthur I-” the words get stuck in my throat. Why does this hurt so much. I should’ve turned him in when he showed me. However, the bigger the evidence, the harder I tried to keep it away from the agency.

“I don’t understand this,” I say finally, voicing my scattered thoughts. He chuckles, and I have to close my eyes briefly to expel the dark weight of that sound from my brain before it gets even more fogged up. “I bet you do, Cassandra. Is that even your real name?”

“Yes, it is,” I say sternly. “Then face me,” he dares.

I turn around hesitantly. Slowly.

I avoid his gaze, keeping my eyes on his black leather shoes.

“Look at me.”

I do, leaving my hands behind me because I still need the desk to keep my legs from giving out. Especially now, when I must look into his eyes and see them scorching with an unfathomable emotion. I gulp.

“You’ve been lying to me this whole time?” He sounds broken. Betrayed. I have never seen this side of him. One of vulnerability.

“No,” I whisper. Wanting to make all of the hurt in his voice go away.

“Are you a thief? Did you come here to steal from me? It shouldn’t have taken you so long to accomplish that. I have given you my trust. I have given you everything…” he trails off, his voice sounding strained. I wonder if he feels it too. The kind of heat that rises without warning from the chest and clouds the mind until you can no longer understand anything.

No way, Cassie. This is not about him.

I should be fighting for my life and I should be doing my best to protect my family, my friends, and the rest of the agency.

I take a deep breath, needing to wriggle out of this situation.

Maybe it’s just survival instincts, or maybe it’s because I am a horrible person, but the words that leave my mouth sound so sincere that deep down, it sickens me.

“I have never lied to you. I am who I say I am, and the only thing I am not is deserving of all that you’ve done for me. All that you’ve let me see and… feel.”

He closes his eyes briefly and I can tell he’s struggling to decide whether to believe me or not. But he must. Today is not the day I die.

“Tell me it’s true. Tell me you’re both perfect and real,” he says, snaking his arms around my waist. At this point, I have to fight back my tears.

“I want to, Arthur. I really do. But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did. I’m not perfect. And I may not be in your reality for too long. But it is true.”

He sighs. Deeply. Like a heavy weight has been relieved from his chest. I hold him, using his biceps as my new form of support when he seems to be giving in to my words.

Then, he pulls me into a tight hug. Like he has just recovered me from another world. I feel the tears I’ve been holding back roll down my cheeks and I exhale.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I’ll never doubt you again. I promise.”