Her lips on his hand made his knees quiver, and for a moment he wondered if he might at least kiss her once again. It had seemed impossible a moment ago when fire was flashing in her eyes, but now he wanted nothing more than to pull her in close and put a stop to her words with a kiss. He could drag her away to bed to stop this conversation where it stood — though if he did, he risked her interpreting his actions as an answer. He hesitated too long; she was speaking again, and her monologue drove out the idea that he could end this with affection. She thought she had him figured out, didn't she? She had quite the laundry list of things to go through — all the things she anticipated would be a part of his marriage, and each one an assumption she'd never verified — but she didn't have the situation quite as well in hand as she thought.
"You think I want to marry," he said bluntly. It was the chief assumption she'd made, and the root of all the others, but his tone made it clear that it was wrong. She assumed that he'd gotten caught up in some romantic notion and decided to propose, when nothing could be further from the truth. Angelica thought that he hadn't already considered each and every item on her laundry list, and that it might shock him now to realize that taking a bride was inviting a source of gossip into his life, risking children, and having to battle over the decor. He'd thought through all of that — there was a reason he'd never married previously.
"She hasn't seen my earrings," he informed her, pulling his hand free from hers (with no small degree of reluctance). "I wasn't seeing her, that night. I don't think I'd even finished a full conversation with her at that point," he added with a touch of sarcasm. A wild thought flew through his mind: he might as well just tell her. She wasn't going to believe him otherwise; she'd think he was just deflecting, and would drag this conversation out to painful lengths trying to convince him not to be in love with a woman he wasn't in love with to begin with. Telling her would probably mean an abrupt end to the conversation, as she moved from shock to disbelief to (most likely) disgust. Nothing good could possibly come of it, but he didn't see a way for anything good to come of this conversation no matter which direction he took it. Why not take the quickest way out?
Emrys drew back a step, as if he expected her reaction to what he said next to be physical instead of only emotional. "I was seeing someone else. Another lover." It was almost as though he were high, because he certainly didn't feel as though he were present in his body as he continued. "Another man."
"You think I want to marry," he said bluntly. It was the chief assumption she'd made, and the root of all the others, but his tone made it clear that it was wrong. She assumed that he'd gotten caught up in some romantic notion and decided to propose, when nothing could be further from the truth. Angelica thought that he hadn't already considered each and every item on her laundry list, and that it might shock him now to realize that taking a bride was inviting a source of gossip into his life, risking children, and having to battle over the decor. He'd thought through all of that — there was a reason he'd never married previously.
"She hasn't seen my earrings," he informed her, pulling his hand free from hers (with no small degree of reluctance). "I wasn't seeing her, that night. I don't think I'd even finished a full conversation with her at that point," he added with a touch of sarcasm. A wild thought flew through his mind: he might as well just tell her. She wasn't going to believe him otherwise; she'd think he was just deflecting, and would drag this conversation out to painful lengths trying to convince him not to be in love with a woman he wasn't in love with to begin with. Telling her would probably mean an abrupt end to the conversation, as she moved from shock to disbelief to (most likely) disgust. Nothing good could possibly come of it, but he didn't see a way for anything good to come of this conversation no matter which direction he took it. Why not take the quickest way out?
Emrys drew back a step, as if he expected her reaction to what he said next to be physical instead of only emotional. "I was seeing someone else. Another lover." It was almost as though he were high, because he certainly didn't feel as though he were present in his body as he continued. "Another man."
The following 4 users Like Emrys Selwyn's post:
Angelica Selwyn, Melody Crouch, Valerian Macnair, Yuri Podsnapper
Angelica Selwyn, Melody Crouch, Valerian Macnair, Yuri Podsnapper
Lou made this! <3