Chapter 32

Before Talia could respond, footsteps approached. She looked up to see Derek standing there, his expression unreadable.

"Why did you let a woman beat you?" he asked.

The question stung, but Talia forced herself to answer. 

"My dad taught me to always let a woman win." The lie came easily now. She'd been lying for so long. "If I beat Selene, it doesn't count. She's a girl and I'm a boy."

It sounded hollow even to her own ears, but Derek nodded slowly. "You're right," he said. "That makes sense."

‘He doesn't believe you,’ Titi observed.

I know, she thought. But Talia didn’t let it show on her...