"I don't..." Her eyes moistened again, her voice nearly choked. Was he trying to protect her completely?
"You can't be willful about this kind of thing!" His tone became stern as he spoke, "Do you think you're better than me at handling things, or am I better than you? Don't make decisions on your own and then mess up, leaving me to clean up the aftermath!"
She bit her lip, torn inside. She knew well enough that her influence and ability to handle things were not as strong as his. All she could really do was state the facts clearly, but she still wanted to solve this on her own. As for the 'mess' he mentioned, that was just to provoke her.
"Be obedient!" he added. "I know what you're thinking, you want to protect me, but if you step in, not only will you fail to protect me, you'll drag all three of us into this mess! Why don't you trust me?"
"I'm not saying I don't trust you..." she retorted softly.
