Elizabeth stared at him, her eyes wide, searching the dark expanse of his pupils for the lie. She had expected a rebuttal, a calculated deflection, or perhaps a subtle shift in his posture to reclaim the upper hand.
Instead, she found only that terrifying, unblinking acceptance. It was the confirmation she hadn't expected, delivered in a form that felt more like a physical blow than a verbal answer.
"You are not going to try to manage this moment," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of awe and revulsion. "You aren't going to smooth this over."
"You aren't going to use your charm or your intellect to soften the blow of your own monstrosity."
"I am managing it," Rex countered, his voice as steady as a heartbeat in a silent room. "The management simply looks like honesty, because honesty is the most efficient tool for this specific moment."
"You are a woman who can dissect a lie as easily as a specimen, Elizabeth."
