"I don't know."
Those words echoed in the room. It was the first time Eva didn't flat out deny a future relationship with Lucas. It left her reeling and unstable.
She stared down at her shaking hands as she tried to unravel what that meant. Leyla's silence only magnified the realization that was crashing down on her.
"I think you do know."
Eva flinched at the sharp tone from Leyla. She had been suspecting this from the moment that she explained the cloak ritual to her. Leyla would finally see the horrible decisions that Eva made and hate her now.
"I can't accept these feelings. Not if I want to restore my family's honor."
"What does honor do for dead people?"
"But… I must restore my family's name!"
"A name that now belongs to another? Why would that keep you from having feelings for another?"
"I must marry another noble in order to solidify ties to the nobility."
"Why would some noble help you do that?"
"Huh?"
