Roland was stunned. His heart, initially palpitating, skipped a beat. He instinctively moved forward, wanting to deepen the kiss. However, he stopped himself at the last minute, gently putting a safe distance between themselves. Nightingale was crestfallen, her face filled with disappointment.
"Wait, let me explain..." Roland tried to explain himself but he found himself stumped for words. If he said that he had to talk to Anna this would make the situation worse. However, he also could not bring himself to tell a white lie. Besides, Nightingale could tell whether he was lying or not. He shifted his eyes away from her questioning face.
"I understand, it's alright" Nightingale quickly collected herself. Seeing that Roland could not bring himself to lie to her, she was filled with mixed emotions. His honesty what what she loved the most but now it made her heart ache. Knowing that she would not be able to hold back her tears much longer, she disappeared into the Mist.
~~~
Roland was left alone in the room. He rubbed the area between his brows, trying to ease the headache from the incoming hangover. The relationship mess he was in was not helping either. He made a mental note to stop drinking Evelyn's chaos drinks, they were getting stronger without any difference in taste.
"Why do I feel more stress now than when building a kingdom out of nothing and defeating the demons?" Roland muttered to himself while getting dressed. He pushed this problem aside, Anna was returning in 2 days time and he would deal with it then.