"I know that you are not accusing me Mero, but I am accusing myself because I should have known better." she cried.
"Zuph is not an idiot, sooner or later it would occur in his mind that the woman in question is me, and when that happens, everything will be ruined." she said as she shook her head.
"I understand your worries, but if that happens, I will always stand by you, you can be assured that I will." he said as he smiled and kissed the back of her hand.
"Oh but Nora, Nora will hate me, she will be the most affected out of everyone else... she is my closest confidant and yet I... I was able to allow myself do something this harsh to her, I can never forgive myself." said Wura as she shook her head.
"We can never really please everyone. But do not misunderstand me, I understand how you feel, and I feel the same... if only things were not as complicated as they were when my feelings for you blossomed." said Mero as Wura looked at him.
"If I had met you first, If I had loved you before he did, I would have never allowed you to suffer like this, with lies and deceit and guilt, I am truly sorry for everything you have to go through because of me and what I feel for you." he said sincerely.
"No... I am sorry for allowing this to continue... I love Liam, Mero, and that can never change, even if he is not here, he is always in my heart and mind every second of every day, and no matter how much I try to distract myself, he is ever present in my mind." she said as she sighed and pulled her hand out of his.
"And that is why I am here Mero... I have come to tell you that I have made a decision about the question you asked me yesterday." she said as she took a step back which was a negative indication to Mero about her choice.
"Alright..." he said as he waited and looked at her gently as she summoned the will to speak out.
"Mero, do not doubt that I have an affection for you, because I surely do..." she said taking a pause.
"But?" he asked knowingly.
"But... I love Liam with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind. I have a duty to him as his wife, and to the Kingdom as their Queen, I feel guilty to both of them, I thought that I could fight through the guilt and allow myself to feel happy with someone else for a change, but I cannot." said Wura.
"The reality is that I am not the kind of person that can be doing wrong and still be able to sleep peacefully and lie to everyone around me." she said as he nodded, she had expected him to be angry or frown, but he just looked so understanding.
"I cannot do it, and with everything that happened with Nora and that is still going to happen, I cannot continue like this. I really wanted to give this a chance but I cannot do it at the detriment of other people's happiness." she said.
"I am really sorry Mero, believe me, but we cannot continue this relationship." said Wura as she looked away.
"You do not have to be sorry Wura, I understand. And I also knew that sooner or later you would be forced to make a choice, it was selfish of me to think that you would be able to continue with such lies. I should have known better, so if anything, please forgive me for pushing you." he said as he looked at her and smiled.
"I gave you an ultimatum and you gave your choice and I accept it. I know that you have an obligation to many people but especially to yourself, and I know that no matter how hard you try, Liam will always be in your heart. I have accepted that fact since I confessed my feelings for you." he said as he smiled.
"Deep down I knew that our relationship was never going to go further, but I am forever grateful to you for trying, for sparing my feelings, for trying your very best to make everyone happy at the expense of your own happiness." he said as he walked closer to her and took her hand in his.
"Words can not explain how I feel for you... I can never express them, but I admire you even more every single day, you are selfless, you are caring and you are not afraid to sacrifice what means a lot to you for the sake of others that you care about." he said.
"And that my Queen... is why I love you so much Wura, I always have, and I always will." he said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand and she felt her heart melting that she was breaking his heart.
She was sad that she had to end things this way, she was regretting that she allowed things to escalate to this point so quickly. How could she think that she would be void of any emotions of guilt.
"This is for the best Mero... I cannot risk us being found out, it would be hard to explain the nature of our relationship and no matter what new words we call it, it still remains adultery and I will be accused of being an adulteress and at this point in time the Kingdom needs to be as united as ever, and not divided." she said.
"I agree Wura, like you said, this is for the best." he said.
"Do you... do you resent me?" she asked carefully as he laughed.
"No, never, how could I ever resent a woman who has been honest with me since the beginning? You never hid the nature of your feelings for me, and I have no feelings but gratefulness and immense love towards you, for who you are and the way you are." said Mero.
"I love you so much Wura, and I am not saying that to make your resolve falter, but I am telling you this so you know just how much you mean to me, and the reason I agree with you because I love you, and I want to protect you." said Mero.
"I will never let anyone harm you, and thank you for accepting me, thank you for trying, and thank you for being honest with me, and most of all, thank you for being yourself." he said as she could not help but still feel guilty towards him and everyone else.
"Thank you for being so understanding Mero... you do not know how much your constant support and understanding means to me." she said.
"I can always talk to you without fear of being misunderstood or reprimanded, I admire your presence in my life strongly, and if things were different... maybe, just maybe I would have fallen in love with you instead of him." she said as he hushed her gently.
"You do not need to say it out loud." he said as he could see her struggling with her words.
"I understand your every word and even the unsaid words, the hundreds of words you want to express in your eyes." he said as she closed her eyes.
"Can I ask for a favour?" he asked as she simply nodded and opened her eyes.
"May I have one last kiss, for the last time?" he asked. Mero was certain that as soon as she left, their relationship would change drastically and it would be hard to let go even if he had to.
Wura was unable to say anything as she just nodded and closed her eyes as his lips covered hers and they shared their final kiss.
It was filled with longing, with regret, with fire, and most of all with acceptance that this would be the last time their lips would touch.
Wura broke their kiss as she turned away and took her leave, she did not look back for fear that her resolve would shake and all her words would have been in nought.
She walked quickly and steadily far away from Mero's tent and from Mero himself, she could not stop telling herself that this was for the best. It was for the best and the peace,
Mero had his eyes closed as he squeezed them when he finally opened them a lone tear managed to slip out from his eye. He turned around and wiped his mouth, touching his lips, coming to terms with the inevitable reality of his love for her.
It was strong, but it was never meant to be. He was a traitor to his kingdom, he was a traitor to his king, and worst of all, he was a traitor to his friend, and yet he could not help but say that for Wura... it was worth it all.