"Ronan," called Arielle, and Ronan took a deep breath.
"Yes, Sweetheart?'
Ronan glanced back at Arielle's thin hands gripping the back of his robe.
"How did you get here? And… since when?" Arielle asked with a confused look.
Ronan touched his wife's hand and kissed it gently. The man let go of Arielle's hand from his robe and sat near the bathtub. They didn't need warm water to bathe in Thebis, because what they needed was cold water.
Ronan thought for a moment. His hands splashed the water in the tub. His finger then played with the fabric of the girl's dress floating on the water.
"Since the first day you boarded this ship. I never returned to the palace."
"Since the first day? But why didn't you tell me?" asked Arielle dejectedly.
If Arielle had known Ronan had been on the ship with her since the first day, perhaps she could have hugged the man, and she wouldn't have to hold back her longing.
