The Lies We Leave Behind Novels & Stories

I groaned, rubbing my temple, exhausted from everything that's been happening tonight. "Tomorrow night," I stared up at the cieling, my eyes drooping in sadness. "I have to go back to him. Everything I have to say to Draven before I leave was going to be own words. But Dexter told me to make sure those words would allow him to let me go." I bit my bottom lip harshly, pondering over what I should come up with. The lie that's supposed to be half the truth and half a lie. I had to make him leave, whether it was by a lie or not. Maybe it was better to lie. But then again, Draven could easily see through my lies. "Forget it!" I groaned for the millionth time tonight and decided to go to sleep. To

So, this was the reason he had refused to go public with our relationship all these years. All that talk about waiting for the firm to stabilize, waiting for the right time, waiting until he could give me a secure life before going public—it was all a lie. Without even knowing it, I had been the other woman. I forced a bitter smile and looked them both straight in the eye. "Fine. Okay. I'll leave you two to it." With that, I bent down, gathered my personal belongings from the floor, and prepared to leave. "Hold on." Louis suddenly called out, stopping me.

But I was already walking away. Before leaving the room, I turned back once more. She stood there in the dim light—beautiful, fragile, terrified—and yet holding secrets behind her lashes. “I’ll be back,” I said. Her breath trembled. “Promise?” My throat tightened. I didn’t believe in promises anymore. But I still said, “Yes.” Because some lies are necessary. I started down the hall. Luca followed. The storm raged outside. And something told me, when I returned to this house, nothing would ever be the same again.

“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

“I deserve to know the truth. Why did you leave without telling me? What are you hiding from me?” “We’re not hiding anything,” Adrien said, his voice firm. She scoffed. “Don’t lie to me, Adrien. I know you too well, both of you.” Her gaze shifted back to me, her eyes searching mine. “Tell me the truth, Aries. What’s going on?” My patience snapped. “Fine. You want the truth?” I took a step closer, towering over her. “We left because we were done. Done with the business, done with the violence, done with everything that tied us to this place—including you.”

“Not because I don’t care about you—” She holds up a hand, stopping me. “You’re saying you want to leave,” she says softly. “I’m saying we can’t keep hurting each other,” I reply. “And we can’t keep feeding this—whatever this is—with confusion and guilt and lies.” Leah’s eyes shine. “So you’re choosing her.” “No,” I say immediately. “That’s not what—”

The city slipped by outside dark storefronts, empty streets, the glow of distant traffic lights. “You know,” I said finally, my voice low, “our whole lives have been built on lies. My mother lied to protect me. Your father lies to control everyone. Rebecca lied to herself. And me I’ve been lying to myself since the day I met you.” Alex turned his head toward me, eyes glassy with pain. “How?” “Because I wanted to believe we could be normal. That love could fix everything. But nothing about this is normal.”

"Hopefully." He forced a smile. "I'll go now. Have a nice day," and he bade the both of them before leaving the house. Adelina stared at herself in the mirror. Was she wrong to have started this lie? Yes, she felt it. But she also thought it was the best way to forget him for good. Jonathan was always going to be the same arrogant, womanizer she had met a couple of years back and she felt stupid to have thought for a second, that he could change because of her. For her.

Don't fuckin tell me you've fallen in love with this man? My stomach twisted. “I...i ..I haven’t. It’s... complicated. He’s dragging his feet on the divorce from Jayla. Election season, headlines—he’s paranoid.” “Paranoid? Or smart?” The voice sharpened, like a knife edge. “You’ve been in that house for months now, belly swelling like a trophy. If you’re not his wife on paper soon, you’re exposed. And if you’re exposed, I expose you. Everything—the lies, the setups, the money trails. Poof. Gone.”

“After you left, I trusted him because I thought he was the only person who stayed.” “I know,” I said quietly, reaching across the table but stopping before touching her. “And that's why I never blamed you for believing him. He knew exactly what to say because he understood how broken both of us were.” My chest ached. Lisa looked at me for a long moment, and the silence between us felt heavier than the six years separating our lives. I could see the questions still fighting inside her, but there was one truth she needed before anything else. “I never left because I stopped loving you,” I finally told her, my voice breaking as I held her gaze. “I left because I believed a lie, and I was too b