Page 138 of Villainous Rise

“I expected you to understand I’m trapped!”

“Look at the board, Annie.” He turned away, running a hand through his hair before glaring at me. “You give them a fake engagement today to keep the peace. What do they ask for tomorrow? A fake wedding? You think compliance buys you security, but it only hands them a longer leash to choke you with. You’re giving them the playbook on how to control you.”

“I can’t just⁠—“

“You can.” He stepped into my space again. “You’re just too scared of the fallout. You’ll let them use you because it’s easier than standing your ground. You’re so fucking terrified of breaking the rules, of stepping out of line, that you’d rather break yourself instead.”

“That’s not fair.”

“You want to talk about fair?” Cipher huffed out a humorless laugh. “You’ll wear his ring in front of the whole world because the Alliance told you to. You will smile for the cameras and let him claim you in the light. But me? The man you supposedly love?”

He leaned in, his voice dropping to a vicious whisper. “I get the shadows. You know what’s not fair, Annie? Giving you fucking everything and still knowing I’m just your dirty little secret.”

“You think I’m keeping you a secret?” My voice shook with rage. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

Cipher’s eyebrows rose, but his expression remained cold.

“I told the Aegis about us! The goddamn Aegis!” I slammed my palm against his workbench, sending a small tool clattering to the floor. “I told them I’m sleeping with you. I told them you would kill Valor when you found out. And you know what they said? They said they’d ‘handle it’ and told me to proceed as planned.”

I watched his face shift, surprise breaking through the anger for just a moment before his features hardened again.

“You told the Aegis.” His voice was flat, disbelieving.

“Yes! The people who could end my career with a snap of their fingers.”

He studied me, his head tilting slightly. “And they didn’t care.”

“They didn’t give a shit!” I threw my hands up.

Something dark flickered in Cipher’s eyes.

“So you’ll go.” The statement dripped with contempt.

“I don’t have a choice!”

“And tonight, you’ll wear his ring. That gaudy piece of Alliance-approved jewelry they’re sending over.”

I swallowed hard. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“He’ll put his arm around your waist,” Cipher continued, stepping closer, “right where my hands were last night. He’ll lean in close, whisper in your ear for the cameras.”

“Stop it.”

“And when the moment’s right, when all those flashes are going off, he’ll kiss you.” His eyes burned into mine. “He’ll press his mouth against yours, and you’ll let him. You’ll smile afterward like it meant something.”

“I said stop it!”

“Maybe he’ll get carried away. Slip his tongue into your mouth. Put his hand on your ass.” Cipher’s words were precise, clinical, and all the more devastating for it. “And you’ll stand there and take it because you’re too fucking scared to say no.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I hated myself for it. Hated that I couldn’t keep it together, that he could reduce me to this with just his words.

“Fuck you,” I whispered, turning away so he wouldn’t see me cry.

I pressed my palms against my eyes, willing the tears to stop. My chest felt too tight, like someone had wrapped steel bands around my ribs and was slowly tightening them.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I’d come here thinking—what? That he’d understand? That he’d help me find a way out? That he’d hold me and promise it would be okay?