Veilbreaker: Shattering the Veil of Lies-Chapter 20: Love is War

"A war's coming to New Washington Awakened Academy," she whispered, dangerous and close. "And I need you, my wildcard."

'Oh...'

Of course.

'She just wants to use me.'

I thought—

No. Stupid.

Why the hell would she be different?

My eyes twitched at the word 'War' then I remembered. I'm not here to play kingmaker. I'm here for my license. For revenge. Not for their bullshit politics. I didn't escape the simulation to be a pawn— no— I was going to be the player this time.

And just like that, my expression went blank again. They could tear each other apart for all I care.

Andrea glanced at Bodhi, then back to me—her palm still firm over my mouth.

"It's going to escalate soon," she said, eyes narrowing. "According to my predictions."

"Why should I join?" Bodhi retorted, as he leant back on the sofa.

"Because if you don't, you'll get hunted by the other 3 for being an anomaly, you two impede on their meritocracy."

Her eyes shifted to me.

"I trust you'll understand, Mr. Campbell... but my little w-i-l-d-c-a-r-d needs more persuasion."

She leaned in—our noses brushing. Her eyes were ice.

"Right?"

"..." I didn't reply.

Or more accurately, I didn't hear a single word.

I was angry— why? I don't know, I guess I thought she was going to be different. But she's like the rest— either they want to assert dominance, insult, berate or just use me.

'Should I kill her... That's the only way they learn'

Bodhi shifted uncomfortably. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The silence spoke volumes.

Andrea's palm on my mouth shifted— before I knew it she cupped my cheeks gently as if I was something precious. My breath hitched in bewilderment. She rose onto her knees, towering over me from the sofa like royalty.

She looked down on me.

Literally and figuratively.

Flicking her hand— a dome of ice formed around the table. A thin azure film formed around us, covered in minute crystals of ice— enveloping us like a blanket. Blocking the view of the nosy students in the cafe, leaving only me, Bodhi and Corvus with her.

Corvus jumped into Bodhi's hood for warmth yet still had his head peeking out to watch what's going on mumbling.

"Will she be my new Mama?"

"She smells cold..."

Bodhi on the other hand became more serious— from the start he didn't want to be involved and now he was stuck with them.

"Oi Regent, what's the icy sound-proof dome for, it's fucking freezing?!" he argued.

The air became frosty— my breaths fogging up in the air, my cheeks and ears reddening from the bitter air.

One of her hands moved to the back of my head as her fingers laced between my hair, gently swirling them around her slender digits— the corners of my lips twitched. My poker-face was slowly cracking due to the cold as well as how disorientated I was.

My brain lagged. What the hell was even happening?

"You look so cute when you're all red, ~wildcard~..." She mused quietly enough for me to hear before turning to Bodhi, who was glaring dangerously— I didn't have to guess. He was mad—very.

"We're in here because I wanted someplace private Mr. Campbell, apologies if it's not to your taste."

She takes a deep breath— there's no fog, that's how I knew straight away. I should not fuck with her. Her voice then reverberated with mana, sending chills down our spines.

"You're both in a fuck-ton of danger... to put it curtly. The students have segregated into the Great Clans. Magnolias, Montague, Lorfresca and Horton. They're all led by the second or third-years apart from the Magnolias clan led by yours truly, the King of the first-years, rank 1 Maximus Macarthur Magnolias. Since you two are unaligned yet dangerous in your own way, they see you two as a threat."

She was telling the truth, whispers of verity didn't activate; just didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. She turns to me gently pinching my cheek with her soft hands— my stomach twisted, I felt exposed— vulnerable. Her other hand played with my hair. Her voice became playful when she spoke with me which startled me.

"And you, my ~wildcard~, made the King cry without lifting a finger. After you showed Liliana a piece of your mind this morning, you really hurt her— she almost cried. She then went running to her fiance. Guess who that is?"

Bodhi's eyes widened, his gaze snapping to my pale face. He raspily mumbled, unable to contain his pure shock.

"That bloody bugger did what?"

"Why should I give a damn about some self proclaimed 'King' and what he thinks— plus that bitch started it first, calling me 'dog-eyes' and trying to assert dominance." I retorted— trying my hardest to sound apathetic.

She smiled...

Softly— as if that's what she wanted to hear the most.

"That's what I like about you the most— your nonconformity." she murmured.

"Wha–"

Before I could respond she placed her finger to her lips, once again. Silencing me.

'Wait a minute— why am I listening to her?!'

"Now my ~wildcard~, I have a proposition for you. My goal is to end my Regency, end my reign as the Ice Queen. I just want... to be normal."

Her voice became softer as she spoke. So far in our turbulent conversation— she never lied once, whispers of verity never called her out. I believed her, and didn't trust her.

As they say, the best form of lying is to tell half-truths.

...For a moment, I almost believed her.

And that's what scared me the most.

Bodhi gasped as if he heard something blasphemous— he tried to speak yet no words came from his mouth. His face which was red from the stinging chill of the air— paled to the very lips. He thought to himself.

'If this gets out she's fucked— she wants to do a dunny on her social life, CRIKEY!'

My eyes narrowed suspiciously as I murmured quietly.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

She smiled— the type of smile that tells you, you're cooked. I was. With a sing-song voice, she pinched my cheek, ribbing after a long pause.

"~♫You're going to be my boyfriend, wildcard♫~"

"HUH?!" Bodhi and I simultaneously yelped.

I stared at her, my mind completely shutting down. The words hit me like a freight train. What did she just say?

'[system crashed— rebooting]'

My brain stopped functioning when I heard that— I short-circuited. What the FUCK did I just hear. I was so dazed, my poker face shattered completely revealing a contorted face of bafflement— my jaw falling to my lap.

Bodhi wasn't any better, his brain regressed to that of a two-year-old as he desperately tried to connect the dots and the logic involved in this. Corvus chirped inquisitively.

"Corvus, right! She is my new Mama. Yay!"

"Ahh-ah..." I barely formed any coherent words.

She kept smiling— glancing at Bodhi chirping.

"You'll be our witness Mr. Campbell."

Bodhi didn't hear anything, just nodding out of pure instinct.

She turned back to face me— her voice now more serious as her fingers grazed along my jawline.

"The reason I'm making this ludicrous request is quite simple. With your turbulent reputation, if I'm romantically interested in you— my public opinion would decline allowing me to finally step down from those exhausting roles."

'[system cooling—partial reboot successful]'

I sagged back into the couch, dragging a hand down my face.

"O-okay... What's in it for me?" I retorted.

She smirked— crossing her arms under her bosom. She bragged pridefully.

"Pick a skillbook. Any one you want. From the Montague vault. As well as gaining immunity from the war as you'll be affiliated with me. And... if you're wondering if you still have your freedom. Yes, I'm not a restrictive person. All you have to do is just be lovey-dovey with me— a kiss, a hug, maybe spend the night over."

"..."

I was speechless. How does anyone say that with a straight face— my mind went to town after she finished her sentence. The blush on my face grew redder and my face contorted incredulously.

Bodhi practically passed out from how wild this was. In his mind, he had never been dragged into such an outrageous mess. He just wanted to stay out of it—yet somehow, he ended up a front-row witness to a scandal that would make the entire academy spit blood. As he sat there, staring into the middle distance, one thought haunted him:

Where the hell did it all go wrong?

Corvus was excited he was getting a new Mama. I thought about it really hard. She hadn't lied once, and from her offer— I had nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain.

In short, I had no reason to refuse.

Genuinely, I tried really hard to find one. I just couldn't.

"Why? If I'm allowed to ask, do you want to step down?" I muttered as I began to calm down.

I regretted asking that soon after. Her face hardened— the air became colder, her brows furrowed. Her beautiful face now held a layer of sorrow and hate. Unbeknownst to her, her fingers tugged on my blazer— the fabric curling in her fingers as her knuckles went white.

'Ah... is that how she looks when she's angry— it's terrifying.'

Note to self: Do not ever make Andrea angry.

"I don't want the attention, I don't want to be used, I don't want to be lusted for. Is it too much to ask to be a normal girl who wants to do normal things." She mumbled quietly.

'She's still not lying.'

A battle ensued in my mental landscape— whether I should help her and act as her boyfriend, or say no and not get involved. I wanted to be left alone at my time at New Washington Awakened Academy, at this point that feels like a pipe dream. It's not that I want to help her— a part of me does— but it'll make even more enemies for me.

Yet I didn't care about that, when she told me that all she wanted was normalcy. She was the most genuine person I'd met here. Whispers of verity never called her out as a liar. Not even once. It reminded me of myself, of how I wished to be free from Richard's tyranny, of living a normal life that never came.

And of course if I agreed to help her, I would be getting a skillbook from the great Montague clan. I was planning to take FULL advantage of that. I was going to milk this golden cow till its udders ran dry (I didn't even feel guilty about it). I agreed for the skillbook. Yes, that was definitely the main reason. Not because I actually wanted to help her. Not that I sympathised with her. Not because I could see pieces of myself in her eyes.

I sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine... no need to get all sentimental on me, just make sure I get that skillbook."

The tones of sadness and hate dissipated in an instant, replaced by a warm and genuine smile. She looked good with a smile— no, what am I saying.

Bodhi now partially recovered from his stupor, nodded. He understood the value of a skillbook yet a twitch in the corner of his lips persisted. A feeling he couldn't shake off— that something big might happen soon and he was going to be a part of it.

Corvus just gazed at us wide-eyed. He genuinely thought we actually were going to be a couple. Wait... are we?

Just then I wanted to confirm something.

"Rege— sorry, Andrea. This is just pretend, right?"

She just smiled.

My fingernails dug crescent moons into my palms.

Bodhi shifted uncomfortably beside me. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

The silence between us screamed louder than any words.

She shrugged, cheekily smirking.

"I don't know."

My face paled to the very lips— I hadn't realised what I was getting myself into. I had no experience with women in the first place. This was the longest conversation I had with one. Now we're pretending to date— I don't even know if it's pretend or not.

"Are you a good kisser?" She asked inquisitively as she tilted her head.

"Huh?" I retorted in a panic.

'Kisser—?'

'I don't even know how to kiss!'

Panic overtook me so hard it was visible on my face, my eyes wide, lips trembling— she smiled even wider, this bitch was enjoying my suffering. Bodhi didn't even react, he'd been hit with so many bombshells the last 20 minutes that he was numb to them now. He stared at me blankly, probably wondering why on earth he was still here.

"Nevermind— it's better if it's sudden, you'll learn quickly." She ribbed enthusiastically.

With that, she leaned over me closer.

Before I could react— before I could form a rational thought.

Her hands curled around my collar— pulling my ass up.

Soft, warm lips crashed into mine, soft and fleeting, like a firecracker too fast to comprehend.

My brain went completely blank. Like a switch being flicked, the cold dome of misty ice around us shattered.

crack-CRASH!

The sounds of the world rushed back in— a gasp, a chair scraping across tile, the clatter of a dropped tray— and suddenly, we were exposed. Every single student present in the cafe— staring incredulously.

Bodhi's mouth hung open in abject horror, blinking rapidly like his soul had just left his body. Somewhere between Andrea grabbing my collar and the dome shattering into snowflakes, his soul evacuated his body. He sat there, blinking stupidly, as half the café exploded in gasps and frantic whispers.

Corvus chortled with pure joy— to exacerbate my horror.

"YAY! Papa found my new Mama!"

I wanted to die on the spot.

I stumbled back, touching my lips in shock, face red enough to combust— my body limp after the Andrea-dominated kiss. Andrea just smirked, wicked and victorious, like a cat that had devoured a helpless bird.

"Told you you'd learn quickly, you're a good kisser you know that." she whispered, winking.

I closed my eyes. Wished for death. Settled for silence.

'Kill me.'

'Please.'