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“What, you thought one of theht be a traitor?”

“It’s been known to happen”

She couldn’t argue that Didn’t even want to Didn’t want to keep talking at all There was tooto find its way out soon “So, everything was a big deception You weren’t ”

“The deception was necessary”

“No, it wasn’t” Pain lanced through her, but she wasn’t going to let that comment slide “You could have told me the truth”

Except it was obvious he agreed with her fah to be kept in the loop on as happening in her own life She felt like an idiot all right, but for trusting Sebastian Maybe her fament of character when it came to him

Heck, she’d let herself fall in love with ato her in order to do his job

“You lied to me, over and over,” she whispered the accusation, the vise on her heart squeezing tighter “I fell for you and it was all a lie Everything”

“I lied?” he asked with clear censure “And you have been so up front and honest with me, princess”

For the first time, the word did not sound like an endearment

She stared at his would not support her otherwise “What were all those questions about? Do you live alone? Why haven’t I osh, you probably know erous register For the first tiht you liked me for me, not because of my family’s wealth or position I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been”

“Stop acting like the injured innocent, Lina” His voice was ice-cold “You say you fell for ave you a chance tonight to be honest, to trust me and you sidestepped it Just like you have every other opportunity since we met”

“I didn’t here I come from to prejudice your opinion of me,” she cried out “Besides, the fewer people aware of my true identity, the less a security risk to me You should understand that”

“That , but we’ve known each other for weeks You planned to offer ht, but intended to continue to withhold the truth If you had feelings for me, you would not considerother measures meant to protect you when you find it convenient”

“It’s not the sa about you is a lie I do…did…care about you, but there was no relationship on your side Just a job” Didn’t he understand howthat was? But then, like her father, Sebastian obviously believed the ends justified the means

For just a second, the blank ray eyes “Just like a woman to have a double standard about honesty You are like every other woman I have known Princess Lina bin Fahd al Marwan Your protestations of heartfelt eht as the other truths you have chosen to share with me”

“That’s not fair, Sebastian I had my reasons”

“Like you have your reasons for lying to your family and your security team Does it matter to you that the men on your detail will most likely lose their jobs once my report is filed with your father’s head of security? Did you once consider your family or the poor saps responsible for your safety when you were busy lying to them all so you could have your freedom?”

She couldn’t breathe He didn’t know her at all She’d thought he’d understood her, but that was just another deception However, it wasn’t that knowledge that was shredding her heart right now The men in her security detail weren’t bad They had lives, families…she could not stand to see them fired

“You can’t file a report that gets theging She was She’d never do it on her own behalf, but for the good of oodwill for their livelihood she would not let her pride stand in the way

“You should have considered that before learning to circumvent the security measures your family had put in place”

“I didn’t knoas being watched by a second detail, did I? I would never have done anything to get them into trouble”

“And you don’t think that if so happened to you on one of the nuuards that they wouldn’t have been fired? Or worse?”

“No one knoho I am here I’m not at risk”

“You’re beyond naïve if you believe that”