Page 189 of Revenge Puck

She lets out a breath that sounds like it scraped on the way out.

“So, when you were texting me?—”

“I was still pissed.”

“When you asked me to dinner?”

“Still pissed.”

“And when we kissed?”

I swallow.

“That’s when things started to shift.”

Juliette rolls her eyes, hard, at the ceiling. “How convenient.”

On the contrary.“That’s where you’re wrong—it became inconvenient.”

She unfolds her arms. “What does that mean?”

I step a few feet to my left, coming closer to her side of the table.

“It was easier when I was angry and bitter. It was clear to me that Declan was protective of you—plus, he didn’t know how to behave around me. He was so fucking embarrassed to be found with his hand in the cookie jar.”

Juliette listens patiently, her ire beginning to thaw.

“The night we had sex, it was like…”I don’t know.“I was different. I hated myself. I knew I was a version my sister and parents would be ashamed of—I knew you didn’t deserve to be collateral damage.”

Her brow furrows.

“You’re telling me you caught feelings and that ruined your evil plan?”

“Yes,” I say bluntly. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

She stares at me for a long moment, like she’s trying to decide if I’m mocking her.

“I don’t like that I was ever part of a plan,” she says.

“I don’t either.”

“That’s easy foryouto say now.”

I can’t stop my brows from rising. “You think I’m proud of it?”

“Pfft. I think you’re good at justifying yourself.”

I cannot argue my way out of that one.

She studies me, waiting for me to pivot and spin the conversation; to explain why my shitty behavior was noble and warranted.

It doesn’t come.

“This isn’t only about us,” she says finally.

“I know.”

“It’s about my brother.”