He nodded.
"But you know if. If he was a real threat, I would have told you. And I waited to tell you because I was worried about how you'd react and I-"
"That wasn't your decision to make. I should be the one to decide if he's a threat or not," Lex said.
"But-"
"But nothing," he yelled. "I fucking knew it. I knew it."
"You knew what?"
He got up and stood beside the bed. "I knew it was him, and I knew you were lying. That you knew."
"So why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I was being stupid and giving you the benefit of the doubt," he said. He walked away, running a hand through his hair. "I figured it was him. And I figured that you knew. But I convinced myself that...that if you actually knew, you'd tell me. Obviously, I was wrong."
"Lex," she said, sitting up, "You have to understand, I-"
"I don't have to understand shit," he yelled, turning to face her. "You knew. You've probably known since that night. And I convinced myself that you- that you were different. That you'd tell me. But you're not. And I fucking-" he shook his head.
"You don't understand; I only did what I did because-"
"I don't fucking care why you did it. You've always got some reason. Some way to convince me that your intentions make up for the fact that you're nothing but a liar."
That stung a little, but she tried to understand. She'd been expecting it.
"All you've done since you've gotten here is lie and manipulate me," he said. He wasn't yelling anymore. His voice sounded cold and calculated like it did when she had first met him. "And I fucking let you."
She looked down. It wasn't the first time someone had called her a liar. Or manipulative. But for some reason, it hurt a lot worse this time.
" I took all of you in, and the only thing I asked for was your loyalty," he said. "But you can't even give me that. And I understand if you hate me, I do. A lot of people hate me for the things I've done to them to their families. But I've treated your people well. I never asked for you to love me. I asked you for your trust. I gave you mine," he said. "And still, after everything, you fucking lied. For weeks."
"I-I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him.
"No, you're not. I fucking knew it was Ben. And the other night, when he came to our rooms, and you freaked out, I figured this was the reason why. And still, I didn't push you about it. I had hoped that it wasn't true that I was right about you," he said, turning his back on her.
"The only reason you're even telling me now is that you have no choice. If I heard it from Ben instead of you, it would be worse. And you knew that, so that's why you asked me to come here. So that you could finally tell me. So don't act like you're sorry. The only thing you're sorry about is finally getting caught."
"Lex...I-"
"I don't care. I don't care about your reasons. I can't trust a word you say," he said. He stormed out the door.
Aria remained on the bed. Tears swam in her eyes. Panic and fear seized her chest, making it hard for her to inhale, exhale, or do anything besides sit there and try to work through what had just happened.
For a second, she was worried that he'd left. That he was already on the way back to the palace. But there was no way he'd go in the dark, would he? He wouldn't just abandon her, right?
The surprising thing was, she wasn't that worried about what would happen to Ben. She wasn't even that concerned about what would happen to her and the others. What upset her the most was what he'd said about her, what he thought of her now.
She put her head in her hands.
When he finally came back, she was in the same position she'd been after he left. She couldn't look up. She felt ashamed. Perhaps if she'd told him the truth as soon as she found out, he would have been understanding. And now, she was nothing but a liar to him. He'd never trust her again.
He didn't say anything to her. He tended to the fire for a few minutes before silently climbing into the bed, ignoring her like she wasn't even there.
After a few minutes, she spoke up. "What are you going to do," she whispered.
"I don't know," he said, his back turned to her.
"Do we have to leave," she asked. She couldn't help herself.
He turned to face her; he didn't seem angry anymore. His face was emotionless, impassive.
"No, Aria," he said, looking right at her, "Your people can stay. You were right when you said that they were good people. They don't deserve to suffer because of Ben's treachery."
Relief washed over her. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to hear.
"And...me," she asked.
"You can stay. Or you can go. It's up to you."
She nodded. She should be grateful. Grateful that he wasn't kicking her out because he obviously couldn't trust her. But his careless tone hurt her feelings.
"Do you want me to leave," she asked.
"I don't care what you do," he said. And with that, he turned back around.
She didn't know what else to say, what else to add. She laid down and faced the wall. They'd slept like this almost every night since they'd gotten married, but tonight felt different.
I want you to stay, he'd said a few weeks ago.
I don't care what you do.
She wasn't sure why it hurt so much. She wasn't expecting this. She should be glad, happy even that he was fond enough of her friends to let them stay.
She wasn't sure when she had started to care about what he thought of her. Maybe it was that night when he'd told
