'Oh no, Madeline, please don't blame yourself,' he wanted to say but instead bit his tongue and looked away, feeling ashamed of himself all over again. What was he to say? That he was the one who tried to kill her? He is a monster, one she should be wary of?'
And what would happen then if he tell her? She would run on her heels and leave him, and he wouldn't have his savior next to him.
"I am sorry," he whispered, unable to look at her. The shivering of his hand wasn't helping one bit.
"No," Madeline shook her head, still watching him. "It is not your sorry I want to hear, it is your reason." She closed her eyes, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Look, you have a right to be upset, but I want you to know that, that drunk man was making advances towards me. The rumors about me having a lover before ever knowing you are not true. All I have known was how to stand over fire, hitting steel…"
