Astron shook his head.
"I know," he said, his voice calm, steady.
Her breath hitched.
His words settled over her like an unexpected weight, like something she hadn't prepared for, something she couldn't immediately process.
"You know?"
Her eyes locked onto his, searching, prying, trying to find the lie. Was he saying this just to pacify her? Was he simply playing along, saying what she wanted to hear?
But—she couldn't read him.
Nothing in his expression betrayed a falsehood. No hesitation, no wavering, no flicker of insincerity.
She hated that about him.
She loved that about him.
She wanted to tear through that exterior, break past the unreadable depths of his gaze and see what lay beneath.
But instead—
She found herself believing him.
Because why would he lie?
Because Astron never lied.
