Page 48 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

Of course, he could have none of that anymore. She would never look at him the same way again. Even if he managed to explain the situation to her, how could she ever trust him? Lilith had asked him time and time again to tell her the truth and Aaden had continued to lie to her relentlessly, ruining any chance he had of her ever forgiving him.

He stayed there, facing the wall, even as he heard Lilith settle by the fire once more. A few moments of silence passed before she broke it with a sigh.

“Ye may turn around now,” she said, and Aaden shifted once more to face her. She had the blanket wrapped around her tightly, the wool hopefully warming her up, though her face was still painted a faint pink from the chill and the wind.

“Can I speak?” Aaden asked. His own clothes were still dripping, forming a small puddle on the floor under his legs. His skin had erupted in goosebumps, and he could hardly suppress the shivers, so he moved a little closer to the fire, only to have Lilith move away, even though he was nowhere near close to her. “Please, Lilith… let me explain, at least.”

“There is naething tae explain,” she said. “It was me own mistake fer thinkin’ ye were different. I ken better now.”

As she spoke, her voice broke, devolving into a strangled sob, and Aaden realized that for the first time ever since they had met, Lilith was crying. It was the first time he had seen tears spill from her eyes, the first time he had seen her so vulnerable.

Knowing he was the reason for her heartbreak broke his own heart. Aaden could feel it shattering in his chest, the pain of it sharp like shards of glass.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lilith couldn’t believe her luck—or rather her stupidity, as that was what had brought her there, in the middle of nowhere, in a cold fortress with nowhere to go to escape Aaden. As furious as she was, she wasn’t simply going to let him freeze to death, so she had no choice but to put up with his presence for the night, before she could finally make her escape the following morning.

If the storm has passed by the morrow, that is.

She had every intention of ignoring him entirely and trying to get some sleep, the blanket and the fire providing just enough warmth and comfort for her to manage it for a few hours, but Aaden seemed to have no intention to let her rest.

She didn’t want him to talk. She didn’t want to hear anything of what he had to say, but it wasn’t so easy to convince him, even as he claimed that if she so wished, he would leave her alone.

“I’m nae askin’ ye tae forgive me,” Aaden said. “I am only askin’ ye tae hear what I have tae say.”

Lilith’s eyes welled up with tears, hot and stinging with salt. She hated that Aaden could reduce her to this crying mess. No one else had managed to do so in the past and it sickened her to think that he had so much power over her now.

I will forget about him. In time, it willnae hurt anymore.

It was the same thing she would tell her sister about Evander. Freya would learn to love again—she had the temperament for it and she would hold onto the belief that she could find true love. Lilith would have good reason to convince her father that she never had to marry. After all this, she even doubted her father would ever insist on it again.

She couldn’t help but wonder what was happening back at the castle. When she had left, there had been chaos behind her, no one knowing what was going on, but the truth must have spread by then. Everyone would know Aaden and Evander were not who they claimed to be and perhaps her father would have already forced them to leave.

She hoped that was the case. She didn't know if she would have the patience to deal with Evander politely if she returned the following day only to find him there after all the pain and grief he had caused Freya.

“Naething ye can say can change any o’ this!” Lilith said, her frustration getting the better of her. Her words came out in a raspy shout and she struggled to wipe the tears off her cheeks, a fresh wave pouring out of her with every breath. “Ye never tell me the truth! Why should I believe that whatever ye have tae say now will be any more real than all the lies ye’ve told me?”

Aaden fell silent, frowning as though he was seriously contemplating that question. Then, he said, “Because I have naething left tae lose. Why would I lie tae ye now? Ye already ken the worst o’ it.”

His voice sounded distant, choked off by a swell of emotion that Lilith couldn’t identify—or rather didn’t want to. She wouldn’t be swept up in this again. She wouldn’t make the same mistake of thinking that he nurtured any real feelings for her.

Aaden did have a point, though, when he said there was nothing left for him to lose. No matter what he told Lilith, she had no intention of forgiving him, so he had no reason to keep the truth from her any longer.

And she would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious to hear what excuse Aaden would give her this time.

“Speak,” she said after a moment of silence.

Though Aaden had been quick to speak before, now that he had permission, he faltered. His lips parted again and again as he tried to come up with the right thing to say and he stared at Lilith imploringly, as if begging her to understand him without him saying a word.

Lilith only stared back expectantly, her fingers curling around the blanket to pull it a little tighter around her shoulders. She had long stopped shivering, but looking at Aaden, still soaked from the rain and curled up into himself filled her with a phantom chill.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “I said I would tell ye the truth, so here it is. I told ye me maither is a courtesan an’… it isnae true. It is what everyone thinks, but it’s only a lie created by me faither tae protect her an’ me. Me real maither is Janice MacEwan. Evander’s maither. Ruadh’s wife.”

Lilith stared at him, wide-eyed and in utter disbelief. Her first instinct was to think of this as a lie, too, but he had no reason to tell her a lie like this, she thought. Why would he say such a thing if it wasn’t true? He had nothing to gain from it.

And then there was another clue: the tears that gathered in his eyes, glinting under the light of the fire. He was trying to fight them, Lilith could see, but just like that night on the balcony, he couldn’t keep his pain hidden.

She fought the urge to crawl to him, to pull him close and wrap him in her arms. Excising the love that had blossomed inside her was far from easy and she knew it would take time. Despite his betrayal, embers of it still burned in her heart and she longed to provide him with any comfort she could, but she forced herself to remain still.