Her grip on the door tightened. Must he be so cruel? Not even on their wedding night under the influence of that fucking potion could Ben confess to such emotion, and now he was saying it as though it came naturally. As though it were true.

Obviously, if either of those were true he wouldn't be leaving for an undetermined length of time again.

She tried not to be hurt that even in the midst of their pretending he hadn't noted who her friends were. It wasn't as though she was intimately familiar with all his friends, after all. But, still, Benevolence and Diana were as close to her as he was to Arthur. And he didn't even know where she lived. "I'll leave it on the mantle downstairs," she replied without commenting upon the rest of his speech. Her first thought was to leave it upon his desk but thought that was a rather touchy subject still. "I hope whatever it is works itself out easily enough." Melody tried to close the door again.