Behind the Lies: I Was Always His (Lyla and Luca) novel Chapter 17

Luca Steele

“Do you believe in love?”

I paused, fingers hovering over my keyboard, mid-email.

Nova sat on the small couch in the corner of my office, legs crossed, laptop open but clearly ignored. Her phone was in her hand, her brows pulled together like she was seriously pondering the question.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why are you asking?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m doing this dumb Facebook game. You know, those random quizzes? It asked if I believe in love, so now I’m asking you.”

I blinked. “You’re in here, in my office, using your work hours to play Facebook games?”

She gave me a sheepish smile. “I already submitted my reports. I’m multitasking.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

She grinned. “You love it.”

She wasn’t wrong. Nova had been… helpful. Actually, way more than helpful. My nightmares weren’t gone, but whenever I had one, she’d end up in my room, sitting next to me, telling some fairy tale about rebellious princesses and sarcastic princes.

They sucked. Horribly. But I’d be lying if I said they didn’t calm me down.

“So?” she asked again, looking up from her phone. “Do you believe in love?”

I leaned back in my chair, arms crossing over my chest. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” I deflected.

She smirked. “Because I’m your wife and I need to know.”

I laughed once, low and dry. “You’re my business wife. Legally signed and sealed, yes, but this isn’t some romantic honeymoon, Nova. This is a merger. You’re not my wife-wife.”

She rolled her eyes, dramatically huffing. “You’re so annoying. Just answer the question properly.”

I looked at her for a moment. Then I sighed and said, “Even though I saw love—my parents, they were madly in love—I’ve never felt it for myself. I’ve had… flings. Hookups. One-night stands. That’s it.”

I shook my head slowly. “No. I’ve never felt that before.”

Nova looked down at her phone again, but she wasn’t really reading anything.

She let out a soft, almost sad laugh. Then looked up at me and said,

“Well… damn.”

I looked at her, confused. “What?”

She met my eyes, and her voice was low—barely a whisper.

“Your life must be so… lonely.”

The room went completely still.

I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but nothing came out.

She just sat there, quiet now, her words hanging in the air like a truth I couldn’t argue with.