Her tone as she replied set him on edge, and Ben sat up a little straighter in the bed as he replied, mentally readying himself for a fight. "Sure we can," he said sarcastically. "People do it all the time. You were gearing up to do it yourself, weren't you, with that American fiance, before we ran off together and got our happily ever after."

This was likely not the sort of dynamic she had envisioned when they'd exchanged their wedding vows, that much was obvious. It hadn't been his ideal of how he would spent the rest of his life, either. He would have much preferred to find some resolution and mend things between the two of them, so that they could eventually be happy together — but that just didn't seem possible, under the circumstances. And while this was far from ideal, it might be the best case scenario left to them: quiet and relatively functional resentment. Better, anyway, than explosive fights when she tried some new scheme and surprised him again. Better than him trying to build up hope that things were getting better only to be repeatedly disappointed.

"And pulling some stupid scheme that makes you into a martyr and leaves me saddled with the guilt of that for the rest of my life isn't better," he pointed out bitterly. "You can fake your death if you want, Princess — it's not like I could stop you — but don't do it for my sake."