Live Not By Lies Novels & Stories

I so desperately wanted to live. I didn't know if he was a mind reader or if it was merely luck, but his grip eased the tiniest bit. My throat didn't feel so crushed, and I could breathe a little. "Give me a good reason why I should fucking let you live!" It was the only lie I could think of, one that might still get me killed, but in my current state, I didn't see another way out. So there, I said it. "I'm pregnant! " * *

Bottomless Revulsion. All because I lied.

In a place like this—where lies were currency and truth was lethal—it must feel like a curse. “What a misfortune for all these people to have him around. He says everything as he sees it.” “He can’t lie,” Reese confirmed, doubling down with absolute certainty. He sat on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his hair. “I believe every single word out of his mouth. If he says he saw her, interacted with her, then he did. I just… I have a hard time believing she’s actually alive. Something doesn’t sit right.” That sick, twisted pang hit my chest again—the one that flared every time her name left his lips. Penny.

I fell on purpose. "She knew about your disloyalty. And when you slapped her, that shattered whatever was left between you." Zoey burst into hysterical laughter, but Julian's face turned grim. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the throat. "How dare you—do you have a death wish?" Zoey's face turned red, but she looked up at him with adoring eyes. “Because I love you, Julian… You lied to me. If I have to suffer, I’ll make sure you do too."

How had I become the one who lied? "I didn't lie to you. I simply chose not to bond with you. Is there a problem?" I said in an indifferent tone. He grew even angrier, but at that moment, he no longer had the courage to keep arguing with me. "Monica, I know you're angry, but do you know I waited for you for an entire day at the bonding ceremony?" I saw grief in Lawson's eyes. "So?" I asked. He took a deep breath and steadied himself before continuing, "Fine. Have you calmed down now?"

"The lie is the nightclub one. You don’t seem like the type to sneak around." I grinned. "Wrong. I have snuck into a nightclub. The lie is that I’ve never broken a bone. I cracked two ribs during training when I was sixteen." "Damn, didn’t take you for a rule breaker," Slade mused, looking at me with new interest. "You have a pilot's license at 18, bullshit!" Riley was watching me with disbelieving eyes. "I swear, I do." "You guys are so bad at this," Vera said, shaking her head. "Alright, my turn. One—I’ve been in love before. Two—I once rejected a mate. Three—I have never cheated."

Sam and Paxton, the two men who claimed to love me, were both lying to my face. I wanted to laugh, but my eyes burned. When I reached up to wipe them, my fingertips were wet with tears. Forget it. I didn’t want anything anymore. Right now, the only thing that mattered was staying alive. Paxton didn’t seem suspicious. He was still as patient and gentle as ever, but I had no intention of staying by his side anymore. I packed my things, and when he came home from work that evening, I told him I wanted to break up.

"Do you really believe in second chance mates-" "No, it’s bullshit. Don’t believe everything you hear," she said so fast, I thought she rapped. "But you-" "That’s what I said, right?" she smirked and glanced at me. "Did you notice the young ones among them? They’ll probably give up on life if they look at the older ones too much. Sometimes lies make people feel better and uplift their spirits. It saves lives." "Did anyone lie to you?" the words fell before I even knew it.

“So I misunderstood that this guy is your friend. And I misunderstood that you guys are engaged and want to get married. And I'm sure I got it wrong, too, that you were just lying to me the whole time.” She held up her hands in a soothing manner. "I didn't lie to you..." "No, you didn't," he interrupted, his tone now caustic. 'You just kept a few things secret, that's something else entirely, of course. A little secret here, a little swindle there—none of that bad.” “Let me at least explain how it happened,” she pleaded desperately. "Well, I'm really looking forward to it. What are you going to tell me this time?" He smiled cynically: "You can skip that, you don't seriously expect that I'll

Karen stood behind her, their eyes meeting in the glass, a private ritual of undressing that went beyond everything. “I am tired of the chase, Karen,” Lara confessed, letting her bra fall to the floor. “The relentless pressure to prove loyalty to a system designed to discard us. The phantom heat of Rahul’s touch… it was always a lie. It was always a transaction. But this..." she gestured between their reflected images, stripped bare of their corporate personas. “This is clarity. This is the absolute truth.”