11. Freaking Lie

"Cage," he scoffed, tasting the word like it left a bitter aftertaste. We both stood in the hallway, his expression unreadable. "If my mother makes you feel trapped, that's on her, not me."

I rolled my eyes at his relentless arrogance and started walking away. All I wanted at that moment was to get some fresh air, to escape from everything, especially him.

"Why are you playing hard to get?" he shouted after me, his voice echoing down the hall. I froze mid-step and slowly turned back to him. "It's not like you don't love me," he continued, a smug grin curling on his lips. "We both know you're dying to tell me how you feel."

A cold chill crept up my spine. Part of what Ivan said was true, but admitting it felt like surrendering. I had crushed on Ivan Carlos since I was young, fantasizing about moments just like this—moments where I could finally confess my feelings to him. But I never thought it would be under these circumstances, and I certainly didn’t expect it to feel this... wrong.