"Alexei…?" Elise's voice was raw but also gentle. Seeing the pain in Alexei's eyes pained her too. She wished all this didn't happen. However, now was not the time for denial. As the mother, she had to be the strong one between the two of them. "Alexei... I know this is a lot to take in…"
"I… I need a moment to think about everything," Alexei weakly laughed. "You're telling me that the person I've hated all my life is my father and yet, Dimitri… or Dante really, I know he cared about me too, yet what he did was..."
"Dante thought he was doing the right thing," Elise smiled bitterly. "Almost all of us think that we are justified when we act a certain way. Loriel was hurt terribly and bitter when he married me, so the two of us thought he was justified for treating me like crap."
