[Huh? What are you talking about? I never lied to you.] Ceres protested instantly, her mental voice laced with a sudden, defensive prickle.
(Yes, darling, you absolutely did,) Belle countered, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. (When you first laid eyes on that encrypted email address, you swore to me that you had never met the person who owned it.)
Ceres fell silent, her mind racing backward to the initial investigation when she had first unearthed Tristan's existence in this world. Belle was right. She had flatly denied any connection to the man the very first time she reached out to him.
[Fine. I apologize,] Ceres muttered, her tone softening into a rare, genuine admission. [I was only trying to protect him at the time. I was terrified that if you knew his true identity, it would put a target on his back. I couldn't risk our old enemies using him as leverage against me.]
(Well, it's fine. I'm not actually upset about it. It's already in the past.)
