UsernameEmailRegionInterestAOL IMICQ IDYahoo! IDMSN IDJabber

Cael tried his best to not notice the faint glimmer of the object that had fallen from her hands when she used them to cover her face, knowing what it was, even though he wished more than everything it was just a figment of his imagination. He looked away from her again, staring down at his shoes as she answered his question, eventually lifting his own hands to massage his temples, eventually dragging them down his face before letting them drop limply to his sides. He watched her from where he was standing before letting out another breath, stepping forward to round the bed and take a seat on the mattress near her feet. He was still staring at the floor between his legs, knowing that he should be saying something to try and make all of this better, like he promised he would, but he was still trying to wrap his head around the reality of the situation.

“So…what did they say to you, exactly?”

The question was asked with an air of caution, finally turning to look at her. She looked so empty, like a girl who had lost all hope, and his heart went out to her…but at the same time, he too was hurting, but she definitely got the worse end of the deal. She was going to be forced to marry a man she didn’t even love, didn’t even know, and he was losing a girl he had grown to care deeply about over the course of a few months. Perhaps one day he would be able to move on, and find someone knew – maybe a girl who didn’t have parents who despised him because of his bloodline, but it wouldn’t be the same. She wouldn’t be Cecilia Hooke, and the idea of it all was maddening.

Was everything they had been through for nothing? Did they take so many steps forward just to be pushed back even further back than where they started?