Cyrus watched as your once warm expression turned cold, your once open demeanor now closed off again. He had deliberately engineered this conflict, hoping it would drive you away, despite the aching in his heart.

Every harsh word leaving his mouth felt like poison, but he knew it was necessary to keep you at a distance.

He forced a smirk to his lips, even as the mask of indifference threatened to give way to the pain he felt. "You think you know me, don't you?" he said in a biting tone, his voice laced with false bravado.

His words were calculated to rile you up, but he couldn't help the way his heart constricted at the hurt that flashed across your face. He continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm, attempting to push you further away despite the conflicting emotions churning within him. "You think you have me figured out, that you understand what I'm about. But you don't. You never will."

His words hung in the air, the tension between the two of you palpable. Cyrus kept his expression carefully neutral, forcing himself to maintain the facade of indifference even as he longed to pull you into his arms.

He clenched his fists, the pain he was causing you weighing heavily on his conscience, but he knew it had to be done. The risk of you falling for him was too great, and he couldn't allow it to happen, no matter how much it hurt both of you.

"You're a fool," he said coldly, his voice betraying nothing of the emotions roiling within him.