"It was really fun keeping me in the dark, wasn't it? You were King this whole time, not to mention the Everhart heir, and you just hid it all. I don't even know who the man I fell for actually was."

Lemira stared at the man sitting beside her. They had been together for so long, yet in this moment, he felt like a total stranger.

But the worst part was, despite it all, she still loved him.

Lemira kind of hated herself for that.

Orion's gaze turned bleak. "Every part of that was still me."

"Bullshit!"

She glared at him, pointing at the door. "Get out."

He didn't move an inch. "We haven't reached the restaurant yet."

"I lost my appetite."

She genuinely had no desire to sit across from him at a dinner table right now.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Attorney Bennett. She answered it immediately. "Hello, Sebastian. Is something wrong?"

"There are a few details about the case we need to discuss in person. Do you have time for dinner?"

"Sure. Where should we meet?"

Lemira agreed without a second thought. Right now, the lawsuit took priority over everything else.

After confirming the location, she lowered the phone and looked pointedly at Orion. "Get out. I have things to do."

"Where are you going?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Is that any of your business?"

"I'm still your boyfriend."

Lemira turned to face him, her tone dead serious. "Orion, I know you saved my life back then, and I know you were used by the Sinclair family without realizing it. But you lied to me for months. I can't just blind myself and trust you the way I used to. I can't be with you anymore. Do you understand that?"

The interior of the car fell dead silent. Some things simply had to be dragged into the light.

She refused to keep lying to herself.

Orion's expression completely shattered.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Can't we just start over?"

Lemira looked away. "No."

He let out a bitter, hollow laugh. "Do you really feel nothing for me anymore? Not even a little?"

He had done so much, desperately hoping she would finally see the sincerity in his heart.

Lemira stared blankly at the steering wheel. To say she didn't have feelings for Orion would be a bold-faced lie.

A small, enigmatic smile touched her lips-a smile that sent a sudden, chilling tremor straight through Orion's chest.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

Suddenly, Lemira turned back to him and curled her finger, gesturing for him to lean

in.

Orion's breath hitched. Like a man under a spell, he leaned closer.

The next second, Lemira closed the distance and pressed her lips to his.

Orion's heart slammed against his ribs. His strikingly handsome face was etched with sheer shock, his entire body going rigid. He didn't dare move a muscle

By the time his brain finally processed what was happening, the kiss was over.

Lemira leaned back in her seat, casually wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "There. Done."

"Done with what?"

His pulse was racing. Was this a good sign? Was she forgiving him?

Lemira tilted her head, a mockingly sweet smile playing on her lips.

"Didn't you just ask if I had annet

lingering feelings for you did. But now, its completely gone."

For a split second, Orion wanted to curse out loud.

It was heaven one second and hell the next—the whiplash was absolutely

staggering.

He clenched his jaw. "One kiss, and it's all gone?"

He would have been better off staying on his side of the car.

Lemira gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white. "Orion, thank you for walking this far with me weren't Weren't for you, I nev Trever would have made it this far

quickly."

"Stop."

Orion cut her off, his face pale and stricken.

"Some things need to be said clearly. You were incredible to me, and falling for you

wasn't exactly hard to understand. But life is unpredictable."

She watched as he turned his face toward the passenger window, refusing to look at

her.

Taking a steadying breath, she continued. "There's a lot we can't control. I don't blame you anymore. But I just don't think we're right for each other."

That final sentence echoed deafeningly in his ears.

All the build-up, all the gratitude—it was just padding to soften the blow of that one sentence.

Orion rolled down the window, letting the biting night air rush in just to help him cling to his sanity.

She was saying they weren't compatible.

He had actually lived to see the day he got friend-zoned.

Pressing his lips into a hard line, he turned slightly to look at her. "I don't accept

that."