Twisted Lies, Twisted Love

**Ivery Clark POV** 

A shadow detached from the marble hallway — tall, broad-shouldered, dark eyes gleaming like a storm.

He was there.

Standing at the end of the corridor like he’d been waiting all this time.

He took a step forward. I took one back.

“I asked you a question.” His voice was low, sharp enough to cut through bone.

I could feel it—the storm just beneath his calm, the suspicion wrapping tighter with every passing second. 

His stare burned into me, dragging the panic right back up my throat. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Not with his presence so loud in the silence.

I didn’t answer.

I kept walking. One step. Two.

But then suddenly, his hand caught my arm in a bruising grip. Before I could react, I was slammed against the hallway wall. My breath whooshed out. The impact rattled my bones.

His face was inches from mine, voice low and dangerous. “Don’t walk away from me.”

“Let go,” I snapped, wrenching my arm, but he only stepped closer.

“I told you once. No running.”

I snapped. “Why? So you can lie to me again? So you can make me feel like trash in front of your perfect fiancée and your mommy?”

His jaw clenched. “Watch it.”

“No,” I spat. “You don’t get to demand anything from me. Not when you stood there like I was disposable. You let them rip me apart.”

“You done throwing your tantrum?” he muttered, voice as calm as ever, like he wasn’t the reason I was breaking inside.

“You think this is a tantrum?” My voice came before I could stop it—quiet, cracked, but laced with fury. “When were you going to tell me?”

He didn’t blink.

“Tell you what?”

“That you have a fiancée, a woman in your life.” I snapped, my voice rising.

Alrigo exhaled a laugh. Cold. Arrogant. It wasn’t amusement—it was dismissal.
“And why would that matter to you? I don't think it matters.”

I froze.

“Didn’t… matter?” My voice cracked, not from weakness — from disbelief.

He shrugged, jaw clenched with that damn nonchalance. “ Right. Why would it matter? I don’t owe you explanations. I don’t think I need to justify myself to you, Ivery.”

Each word hit like a slap. My vision blurred with tears I refused to let fall.

“You arrogant, cold bastard.”

He leaned in, lips barely brushing my ear as he whispered, “Cold bastard? Did you forget who pulled you out of the gutter?”

I shoved him back with both hands, hard. My voice was shaking now — with rage, not fear.

“You didn’t save me. You bought me. And now you're treating me like a burden you can’t wait to drop.”

“Why are you acting like this? You’ve been dramatic since coming from the boutique, Picking fights, twisting things. I don’t have the time for your tantrums.”

“That’s rich coming from you.” My voice turned sharp. “You act like you own pain, like you’re the only one allowed to bleed.”

His gaze darkened.

“I’ve bled for this empire. For this family. You think I’m like your coward brother who sold his soul to the Surñios? You don’t know what real loyalty looks like.”

That struck. And it burned.

But I didn’t back down.

“And you think you’re loyal? To whom, Alrigo? Your family? The fiancée you never mentioned? Or the girl you keep like a pet but refuse to admit you even care for?”

His jaw clenched, something unspoken boiling under the surface. “Care? Right. You were just something I picked up. Something I wanted to play with until I got bored. Is that what you want to hear?” 

My breath caught. My chest felt hollow. 

“You mean that..?” I whispered, broken.

He looked at me — jaw clenched, eyes stormy, and yet… something flickered there. 
But his voice stayed cold. “Do I? Take it however you want.”

“You’re cruel,” I said, voice trembling. “And worse—you pretend like you feel nothing. Like I meant nothing.”

He stepped closer, eyes sharp like blades, his presence suffocating. “You meant exactly what you were supposed to. Don’t confuse that with more.”

Tears burned at the back of my throat, but I refused to cry. Not in front of him.
“And you wonder why I want to betray you.”

The silence froze.

His eyes narrowed.
“What did you say?”

I stepped forward, nose to nose.
“You heard me. You think you’re untouchable? You think you can own people and they’ll never bite back?”

He looked stunned for a breath. Then that darkness, that madness, curled across his face.

That terrifying shift in his eyes.

“Says the woman who shares the same blood of the man who tried to kill me.” He stepped closer, the air tightening between us. “You want to talk about biting back, Ivery? Your whole family already sunk their teeth into mine.”

“And yet here you are. Breathing. Standing in front of me. Why do you think that is?”

My spine stiffened, but my hands trembled at my sides.

“Because deep down,” he continued, tilting his head, gaze sharp like a blade, “you know you’re only alive because I let you be. Because some twisted part of me—” he laughed, bitter and rough “—can’t decide if I want to strangle you or keep you.”

He leaned in, his breath a threat against my skin.

“So tell me again. How exactly are you planning to bite back, little wolf?”

“Because if you ever betray me, I swear—whatever mercy you’ve seen in me so far?” He leaned down, voice a growl.“
I’ll burn it out of existence.”

……
A/n: I'm sorry for the late update, my health lately has not been in good condition and also I'm getting paid very less in this platform too, like almost just a dollar per day, it's exhausting and unfair for the hard work I do. I'm looking for another career now, I thought of dropping this story but your love and support is making me continue this story. I'll definitely finish this story, please I beg your patience because I'm going through a hard time, I already see my dream crushing as a writer, probably this will be my first and last story ever. But thank you for your support, I promise I'll definitely finish this story. I'll try writing daily for you people sake ♡