"I meant it," he said firmly, willing Melody to believe him even though he knew the window for that had already passed. He hadn't expected things to be this way, when he'd said it. He'd expected to be able to talk to her, to do things with her — not for her to just shut herself away in her bedroom for a month. When he'd asked her not to leave, he'd meant that he needed her to work this with him — not to meet him halfway but at least to be willing to take a few steps in his direction. At the moment, she seemed either unable or unwilling to do so — but that didn't mean that he hadn't meant it. It just meant that his efforts to prove it to her... weren't playing out the way he'd hoped, to say the least. But they still had time, didn't they? He was going to get her a sleeping potion, and better food, and she was going to start feeling better. Things would get a little better, and then when she was feeling better they could focus on building up their marriage again. They still had time to fix things, before the baby came.

"I meant it. I still mean it," he said. He wished he could have crossed towards her, but her body language was making it quite clear she wanted nothing less. "I love you, Mel."