He put his hand on my shoulder. His touch felt strangely warm in comparison to Theo's, but I appreciated the gesture.
“It’s okay, Maxwell,” Benji said. “I don’t think any of us realized how quickly this lie would spiral out of control.”
“I should tell Pierce,” I mumbled. “He deserves to know that his daughter isn’t actually sick.”
“I already know.”
My mouth went dry as Pierce’s voice came from the doorway.
“Daddy!” Lark cried, clambering out of the seat to run to him. Pierce lifted her into his arms and shot a sympathetic look to the bandage on her arm.
Benji and I exchanged uncomfortable glances. I cleared my throat and stepped forward, since I was the one who took the brunt of the responsibility. Unfortunately, my voice didn’t come out as confident as I wanted it to.
“Y-you do?” I asked.
“Yes.” Pierce’s voice was calm and level, as it usually was, making it impossible to judge his emotions. He entered the clinic, approaching me, and his tall form might have cast a shadow over me if not for the bright fluorescents above.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as Pierce gazed down at me. Was he mad? Upset? Would he kick me out of the mansion?
“I-I deserve any punishment you give me,” I said quickly. “I betrayed your trust, and--”
“Punishment?” Pierce said, his eyes widening slightly. “Maxwell, I’m not going to punish you. I know this wasn’t your idea.”
“You do?”
His lip twitched into a shrewd smirk. “Yes. Only my younger brother would come up with a plan as ridiculous as this and think he could get away with it.”
“Then I guess you know Lark isn’t actually sick,” Benji said, sighing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you, either.”
“It’s all right, dear,” Pierce promised, shooting his mate a smile. “Sometimes we do crazy things for the ones we love.”
As he said that, Pierce met my eyes, making my heart race. Did he know about Theo and I? Or was he just referring to Benji and the others’ involvement?
No, Pierce couldn’t know about Theo and I. He might have been intuitive, but he wasn’t there at the greenhouse when we had our first kiss, and I was pretty sure he didn’t have psychic powers either.
“I’m sorry, daddy,” Lark said suddenly. She leaned into Pierce’s chest, burying her face. “It was a bad game.”
Pierce stroked her hair soothingly. “I know, honey. Thank you for telling me the truth.”
I wanted to melt into the floor and disappear. I’d caused so much trouble by agreeing to Theo’s plan, and for what? We hadn’t proved anything to anyone, except that we were both bad liars. Lark was even hurt in the process. Had it been worth it?
“Come on, sweetie,” Benji said, taking Lark from Pierce’s arms. “Let’s go up to the games room and have some fun, okay?”
“Okay!” She paused and pointed to me with a pleading expression. “Another lollipop first?”
I smiled and handed one to her. “Of course. For being a good patient.”
When they left, I let out a deep sigh. Pierce still remained seated. I felt uncomfortable standing, so I took a seat opposite him. I felt like I was waiting for a teacher to finish scolding me.
“Pierce, I really am sorry about Lark,” I mumbled, staring at the ground.
“I know. I didn’t think she would get to that point, so I’m to blame as well. I could have stopped this earlier.” He folded his hands in his lap. “So, are you ready to tell me what you and Theo were planning?”
He deserved that much. “It was Theo’s idea. He said I needed to stick around, to prove that he wasn’t dangerous to humans. Benji and Caleb didn’t really count, since they’re practically family, but I’m…” I trailed off and looked at my hands. “A stranger.”
“You’re no stranger, Maxwell,” Pierce said. “You’re a good friend.”
“But I’m not family.” I met his gaze now. “That’s why Theo decided it should be me. After that, he came up with that idea of the girls pretending to need me. Somehow Benji and Caleb got involved, too, and it all just snowballed from there.”
