Lucas Brown's countenance was a ghastly pale, bordering on translucence, as the unbearable memories of his past flitted through his mind, causing him to tremble with fear.
"Eileen, I... I was unaware of your affection for me. I had assumed that night you intended to leave with another man. I..." His words faltered into incoherence as he took a step forward, wanting to embrace Eileen, to clarify the grievances and entanglements of their youth. He longed to reveal to her that without the removal of her womb, she would face certain death, to explain that it was not he who had arranged for her abandonment in the desolate wilderness.
Yet Eileen regarded him frostily, "Lucas, are you aware of how I endured those ten years abroad? It was the hatred for you that sustained me, the daily vow to make you fall in love with me, only to exact my fierce revenge!"
For ten years she had plotted, waiting for this very moment!
