"I had to marry you. As a princess, it was my duty to protect my people from harm," she said quietly. "The king left me no choice but to end the war between our kingdoms. Isn't it laughable? I wanted to escape this hell at all costs, but I had to come back. I needed to avenge my parents, who were killed by King Valerian and Queen Isabella."
Lucian stared at her, stunned by her candidness. Both the Cynthia from his dreams and the one before him now seemed to share an unflinching honesty that left him reeling.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," she scoffed, her tone sharp.
"Like what?.." Lucian blinked, puzzled by her words.
"I hate you too."
Her voice was firm, but Lucian couldn't detect any true malice in it. He knew hatred intimately. He had faced it all his life and her words weren't her true feelings.