Viya's POV
The question caught me off guard, and I felt my body stiffen involuntarily. I dropped my gaze, focusing on the half-eaten ravioli cooling on my plate.
"No. He didn't say anything."
The lie came easily. Too easily. I'd learned young that survival sometimes meant deception, that telling people what they wanted to hear was safer than the truth.
I'd gotten good at it over the years—good enough to fool almost anyone.
But not Caesar.
"Really?" His voice was soft, dangerously soft. "Nothing at all?"
I forced myself to meet his eyes, trying to keep my expression neutral. But I could feel the weight of his stare, the way he saw through every carefully constructed defense I'd built.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
Tristan had said plenty. He'd leaned in close a
