Chapter 10 Little Lamb of Deceit
RAVIAL
I’d wanted to keep up with the lie, the one she and her family thought they had successfully pulled off. I didn’t want to reveal too early that I knew she wasn’t Avery. But I couldn’t anymore. It was glaringly obvious.
And though I wanted to indulge them for a little while longer before dealing with them properly, I was done pretending to be the fool.
Their deceit had accidentally given me the true Star I’d always wanted — but even that couldn’t quench the fire raging in me.
Because I knew nothing about this timid, trembling creature they had brought to me. She might have been the real Star, yes, the one destined for me but I had watched over Avery for years, thinking she was the chosen one. Not once had Avery glowed like the chosen star. Not once… until this stranger walked down that aisle.
So who was she?
I knew The Hayes had only one daughter. Yet looking at this shivering, drenched little lamb before me, it was obvious, she was a hidden child. But why had they hidden her?
The questions burned inside me, each one stoking my anger as I slowly walked toward her alluring, naked, dripping form. She looked like Avery, but she was something else entirely, not that spoiled brat I had watched grow.
“So tell me,” I said, my voice low, sharp. “How long were you planning to keep up this little lie?”
With each word, each step I took toward her, she took a step back until she was almost pressed against the stream of scalding water.
Before she could move again, I caught her by the waist and spun her sharply away from the shower. The boiling water hit the marble instead, hissing and steaming between us.
She gasped, flinching, eyes wide in terror. Her hands came up, trembling as she tried to form words between sobs.
“Please… please, no hurt me,” she stammered, her soft island lilt breaking through every word. “I never mean to lie. They make me do it.”
Her chest rose and fell quickly, the water running down her face like tears. “Papa—he hit me when I say no. He say if I talk, he’ll hurt me. He say I must be Avery, must wear her dress, must marry you, or he’ll take everything from me. Mi sisters… mi family.”
Her breath hitched as tears spilled freely. She covered her mouth. “I just do what they tell me.”
I stared at her, her words echoing off the marble walls.
Her accent thickened as she cried harder, her voice raw and desperate. “They say if I fail, it bring shame to them. I was just the girl they hide away. I never wanted this. Never wanted to lie to you.”
The anger burning in my chest faltered just for a moment.
I should have felt disgust. She was a fraud, a pawn in their deception. But instead, I saw something else.
Something trembling.
Something real.
She wasn’t Avery.
She wasn’t trained to deceive.
She was terrified.
I stepped closer, my shadow swallowing her fragile frame as the steam curled around us.
“Do you know what happens to those who lie to me?” I asked quietly.
Her lips trembled. “You hurt them?”
I almost smiled. “Sometimes.”
Her breath hitched, and I leaned in until her tears mixed with the steam between us.
“You should’ve stayed on your little island,” I whispered, my voice low and deliberate. “Hidden. Safe.”
I let the silence stretch, cruel and heavy.
“But since you didn’t…”
I leaned closer, letting my words curl like smoke.
“…you’ll be mine until I get tired of you and I’ve consumed everything I’m after.”
She gazed up at me then, her eyes wide and glistening, her body trembling, and I couldn't resist, my gaze drifted towards her bare form, droplets of water cascading down her golden skin, her firm breasts and pink nipples drawing my attention. I observed as a droplet of water lingered on her nipple for a moment before my eyes traveled down to her slender waist and further down to her curvy thighs, where her pink pussy shimmered with moisture.
Then, I shifted my gaze back to her face and smirked at the shocked and horrified expression she wore as I continued to admire her body, her arms instinctively covering her breasts once more.
As we stood there, locked in this moment, the desire to embrace another human had never felt so intense until now; I yearned to hold her in my arms, to feel how her petite figure would fit perfectly within my grasp.
I raised my hand, and she flinched, bracing herself for a slap, but instead, I tucked a wet strand of her hair behind her ear and gently traced my fingers down her cheeks. She gradually lowered her hand from her face when she realized I had no intention of harming her, placing it back over her chest.
What a sweet little lamb?
But then I noticed I was still caressing her skin when she flinched, realizing that one of my nails had grazed her delicate skin too harshly.
I withdrew my hand and glanced down at it, shaking off the troubling thought that crossed my mind.
I turned my gaze away from her and towards the shower head, adjusting it until the water was no longer scalding, then I turned back to find her observing me with the same curiosity I had noticed in the car, but she quickly averted her eyes when I caught her staring.
"What’s your name?"
She looked up at me, her hazel eyes filled with emotion.
"Leitana, sir,"
Leitana?
I examined her closely; it seemed to comfort her, I mused.
"Leitana," I repeated the name, rolling it on my tongue, and to my surprise, her eyes widened momentarily, and she nodded quickly, as if fearing I would deem it insufficient and prefer Avery instead.
“What happened here stays between you and me, little lamb. Do I make myself clear?”
She looked up at me, confusion flickering in her wet eyes.
“To everyone else,” I continued, my tone calm but sharp, “I’ll let them believe you’re Avery — and that I believe it too. But we know the truth, don’t we, Leitana?”
Her lips quivered as she nodded. “Y–yes, sir.”
“Good girl,” I murmured, the faintest edge of approval in my voice. “Now… have your bath.”
With that, I turned and walked out of the bathroom, the soft sound of water still splashing behind me.
As I stepped into the room, the name replayed in my mind, Leitana.
It rolled off my tongue like a forgotten melody.
I moved toward the window, the moon spilling silver light across the floor. The stars shimmered above, distant but watching. I tilted my head up, a small s
mile tugging at my lips.
And quietly, to the heavens themselves, I asked,
“Tell me… what are your plans?”