Defy: Taennie Special

- 12

Lucian parked his car in front of Cielle's dorm, his heart pounding in his chest. Tonight was the night he would tell her everything. The confusion swirling in his mind about his feelings needed to end. He had to confess—to both the mistakes he'd made and the unexpected affection growing inside him. His guilt weighed heavily on him, but there was a strange hope as well. He wanted Cielle to know the truth, but more than that, he wanted to be honest about his heart.

As he stepped out of the car and approached the building, Lucian rehearsed his words in his head. He imagined Cielle's reaction—the surprise, maybe the anger, but also the chance for closure. Or, if he dared to dream, a chance at something more.

But as Lucian reached the entrance, ready to buzz Cielle's apartment, the door swung open, and there stood Pauleen, Cielle's older sister. Her expression immediately darkened upon seeing him.

"What are you doing here, Lucian?" Pauleen's voice was sharp, cutting through the silence of the evening. She crossed her arms, blocking his path.

Lucian hesitated for a second before standing his ground. "I need to see Cielle. I'm here to tell her the truth."

Pauleen's eyes narrowed, her posture stiffening as tension filled the air between them. "What truth? Lucian, whatever you're planning to tell her, you better think twice."

Lucian's brows furrowed, his determination unwavering. "I'm not going to hide anymore, Pauleen. I owe her the truth about what happened with Koen. It's time she knows everything—about me, about how I—"

"Stop," Pauleen interrupted, her voice suddenly more uneasy, not as cold as before. She stepped closer, her eyes scanning his face, searching for something. "Don't you dare tell her."

Lucian blinked, surprised at her reaction. He had expected resistance, maybe even anger. But fear? He could sense it, subtle but growing.

"She deserves to know what happened, Pauleen. She's hurting, and part of that is my fault. I can't keep pretending everything's fine. I..." He hesitated but then spoke softer. "I care about her. More than I thought I would."

Pauleen's lips thinned into a tight line, her composure cracking just enough to show the nerves beneath. "Lucian, if you tell her, the outcome won't be what you think. You're not just going to break her heart, you're going to break her. And that's something you can't undo."

Lucian frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm doing the right thing. She has a right to know why everything between her and Koen fell apart. Why I've been distant. It's the only way to fix this."

Pauleen shook her head, her voice dropping into something almost pleading. "Lucian, listen to me. You don't understand what you're dealing with. If she finds out the role you played in the breakup, that I... encouraged you to push her away from Koen—" Pauleen swallowed hard, her words faltering. "It's not just going to hurt her. She'll hate me. And once that happens, you won't be saving anyone."

Lucian took a step back, his confusion deepening. "Pauleen... what are you saying? You asked me to keep my distance because you thought Koen and I weren't right for her. I thought you were just trying to protect her."

Pauleen's face hardened, but her eyes revealed her fear. "I was trying to protect her, Lucian. If you tell her what we did, the way we manipulated things, she'll see us as enemies. Do you really want to be the reason she shuts down, or worse?"

Lucian felt the weight of Pauleen's words settling in. He had never seen this side of her before—the desperation, the dread in her voice. It shook him. Cielle was already fragile after everything that had happened. Would telling her the truth break her completely?

"So what, Pauleen?" Lucian finally asked, his voice low, uncertain. "You expect me to just keep lying to her? Keep pretending none of this happened?"

Pauleen's gaze softened, her tone almost pleading now. "I'm not asking you to lie forever. I just need time to figure out a way for her to hear the truth without it destroying her. And right now, Lucian... telling her everything will make her see us as the villains. She's going to lose it. She won't just blame us; she'll fall apart."

Lucian stood there, caught between his desire to come clean and the fear that Pauleen was right. His fists clenched at his sides, battling with the conflicting emotions. He had started this evening intending to confess everything, but now...

"I... I don't know if I can keep doing this, Pauleen," he admitted softly, the guilt gnawing at him. "I don't know if I can look her in the eye knowing that I'm the reason she's been suffering."

Pauleen took a deep breath, stepping closer and lowering her voice. "Then don't look her in the eye, Lucian. Walk away. At least for now. Let her heal. And when the time is right, we'll figure out how to fix this. But right now, you can't be the one to tell her. Not when you're part of why she's so broken."

Lucian looked down, his heart heavy with indecision. His feelings for Cielle—whether real or confused—were tangled up in the mess they had created. But for now, walking away seemed like the only thing he could do.

"I... I'll leave her alone for now," Lucian whispered, his chest tight. "But I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Pauleen's expression softened in relief, though the tension between them remained thick. "Thank you, Lucian. You're doing the right thing."

Before he could respond, a sound came from behind Pauleen. Lucian's heart sank as he saw Cielle standing just a few feet away. Her eyes wide, tears filling them as she realized what she had just overheard.

Cielle's hands trembled, her heart pounding in her chest. She had been walking back from a late-night study session when she spotted Lucian at the entrance of her dorm. Curious, she had stopped before reaching the door, and what she heard shattered her world.

She felt as though she couldn't breathe. Everything made sense now—the sudden distance from Lucian, the cold indifference from Koen, the aching emptiness that had followed her since the breakup. It was all orchestrated. Manipulated.

By Pauleen.

The person she trusted the most.

"Cielle..." Lucian's voice broke through the shock as he took a step toward her, but she held up her hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Don't," she whispered, her voice cracking. "You knew?"

Her gaze shot to Pauleen, betrayal flooding through her. "You knew what was happening, and you let me suffer?"

"Cielle, I was trying to protect you," Pauleen started, her voice trembling, but Cielle cut her off.

"Protect me?" she spat, tears streaming down her face. "You pushed Koen away from me. You made him think we couldn't be together. And you," she pointed at Lucian, "you were just playing with my feelings?"

Lucian stepped closer, his face pale with regret. "Cielle, it wasn't like that. I never meant to hurt you."

Cielle shook her head, unable to process everything she had overheard. She felt her heart shatter all over again, this time from a betrayal she never saw coming.

Lucian reached for her, but she pulled away, her voice breaking. "Just leave me alone. Both of you."

Without another word, she turned and ran back into the dorm, the door slamming behind her, leaving Lucian and Pauleen standing in the cold, heavy silence.

Lucian stood there, his heart sinking deeper as he realized that, despite his intentions, the truth had done exactly what Pauleen had feared.

It had destroyed her.