Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 179: Seeing Through the Lies

Chapter 179: Seeing Through the Lies

Alec’s sharp look made Lauren feel like she was being grilled over scorching coals. With the annoyance in his expression, she believed she shouldn’t have gone to the carriage and instead snuck back to the castle at night. But wouldn’t that have annoyed Alec more? She heaved a sigh when she realized she didn’t have a choice but to face his anger.

’You were so brave to bite the enemy’s trap earlier, and now you are being a coward?’ She questioned in her mind and thought it was ironic.

"Why did you leave the castle without telling anyone?" The stillness of Alec’s tone told her that he wasn’t taking any of this lightly.

She fumbled for a word. She understood that he must have been worried about her considering her condition, and it made her feel a little guilty. He was only thinking about her well-being, yet here she was, doing things behind his back even when he had told her not to keep anything from him.

Staring at Alec’s unforgiving orbs as she contemplated, Lauren wondered if it would be better to tell him about Simon. She wanted to be fully transparent to him just like he wanted her to be. She didn’t want to break his trust and put him in the dark because she knew that once he discovered that she had met an enemy alone and was planning to meet him again, hell would rise. But a part of her wanted to do what she believed was necessary—to deal with Simon herself for the time being and discover what he knew about her, and well, if she got lucky, perhaps she could use this opportunity to get to the rebels’ mastermind.

And while she was doing all of that, Alec would continue doing his duty for the kingdom. It didn’t mean she would never tell Alec about it; she just needed a little time. She planned to ride Simon’s schemes, which she knew Alec would never approve of, so she had to keep it a secret from him. Once she had figured out something, she’d tell Alec, and both of them could devise a plan.

She knew she wouldn’t hurt herself; neither would Simon. That man wanted to use her as a stepping stone to get to the throne, so she was confident he wouldn’t harm her. Not that she would let him if he tried.

"I am asking you, Lauren."

She snapped out of her thoughts and noticed she only pissed off Alec more with her lack of an answer.

"I’m sorry..." She looked down at her bare hands on her lap. They were turning red due to the cold. It was starting to snow again outside. She was about to pull her gloves from her coat’s pocket, but Alec held them between his hands before she could.

He muttered a curse, and his eyes flickered red at the same time his blue fire portal appeared inside the carriage. Without a word, he pulled Lauren inside the portal with him. The next second, they were in the castle—in the middle of their dimly lit bedroom.

One flick of Alec’s finger and the fireplace went ablaze, the doors in the balcony closed with a loud thud, and the curtain fell off the windows.

Lauren felt warm, but Alec’s dark eyes were looking at her coldly, and it was threatening.

"I just went out for a walk... and to meet Vivian. You were busy and I thought you wouldn’t allow me to go outside, so I didn’t..." She was cut off by a sharp glare like he somehow managed to see through her lies. She was a good liar, the years of living with a family of liars taught her that it was a necessary skill, but whenever she lied to Alec, she could feel that he could sense it—that he knew whenever she said a word of lie.

"You sneakily left the castle without telling anyone and you are saying that it was only because you wanted to go for a walk and meet your friend?" A corner of his lips rose without humor. "That sounds like a petty excuse to me. Why don’t you try to make up a better story to support your alibi?"

She swallowed hard, her heart pounding fast. She knew he could hear every beat of her heart and with her reaction, she was only proving him right. She wasn’t like this. She could effortlessly lie to someone without batting an eye, but Alec was a different case. She felt like he’d know what someone was up to even when that person didn’t say a word yet.

"I know you, Lauren. If you truly wished to see your friend, even if I told you not to, you would still do it. You don’t like people bossing you around. You make your own decisions." His eyes narrowed mockingly. "And what’s the other alibi again? You wanted to go for a walk? My dear wife, you must have forgotten you cannot bear the cold. It’s winter. Or perhaps have you decided to be a devoted masochist and torture yourself?"

She was damned, Lauren thought as she groped for the right words she couldn’t seem to find. She just realized how stupid she was to not think about how smart Alec’s mind worked. Of course he’d find her reasons too shallow. How stupid of her to fail to think about it thoroughly. She shouldn’t have left the castle sneakily and instead did it the other way so Alec wouldn’t be suspicious.

"You knew I would have sent Matthias to follow you if you insisted on going out, which is what you were avoiding, am I correct?"

"Look, I just wanted to have some time alone," Lauren huffed, feeling the pressure on her shoulders. She was torn between telling him the truth because she didn’t want to lie to him and keeping him in the dark because it was necessary to make her plan work.

Alec would never let her anywhere near Simon again if he knew he was on the enemy’s side, and she needed to speak to Simon. She had a feeling he knew things she didn’t—about herself and her mother. She believed it was also a way for her to unmask the mastermind of the rebels.

"I’ll tell you the truth, alright!" She blurted out, trying to get her act done. Alec shouldn’t know about Simon, at least for now. Just until she was done with what she needed to do.

"When I heard about the deranged humans in the north district, I was furious... I was frustrated... I was so fed up with all of what’s happening, Alec. The rebels, the deranged humans and black mages, my illness... everything infuriates me."

Tears pooled in Lauren’s eyes. She wasn’t just acting, though. The more words she said, the more her real emotions poured out. "My thoughts had gone crazy and I thought my illness would attack me again because I was overwhelmed by my emotions, so I thought I should leave... I wanted to clear my mind."

"You should have told me," Alec’s expression relaxed, and Lauren knew he was getting convinced by her reason. "You know I’ve always got your back, right?" He held her jaw in his palm and caressed her cheek. He still looked grim, but the tenderness in his eyes overshadowed the anger he showed earlier. He still looked dangerous, but he was now tamed.

"The kingdom needs you, Alec. You don’t need to always be there for me because you have more important matters to attend to, and I understand that. I’m sorry if I have worried you. I didn’t plan to take long, but when I went to Vivian, she had a lot of things to talk about that I lost track of time."

"Remember this, Lauren," he whispered darkly, the flames from the hearth reflecting in his obsidian eyes. "Nothing in my world holds more importance than you do."

Lauren held her breath when Alec’s thumb brushed her bottom lip sensually.

"I understand that you were frustrated, but what you did was still a wrong move, sweetheart..." The mischief in his tone didn’t escape her. "I can never afford to lose you... not even in my dreams. So you shouldn’t scare me like that. Now let me give you a little punishment so you’d be reminded of this incident and not make the same mistake twice."

Little punishment?

Before she could ask to be enlightened, Lauren’s eyes fell wide open when she felt shackles on her wrists. She looked up and saw its chains attached to the ceiling.

"What are these for, Alec?"

"For our little game," he answered, but she could sense that whatever that game was, it wouldn’t be a good idea for her. She knew he’d never do anything to hurt her, but it still made her feel anxious.

"And what kind of game is that for you to have me shackled like this? I hope you are not thinking of flogging me."

Alec’s eyes darkened at the latter part of what she said. "You must have known by now that I’d rather cut my head off than do that, right?"