“You never seize to amaze me, little witch. Even when you are being wronged you make the choice for light,” Andreas told me when we were alone, his anger dissipated.

I averted my gaze. “How did you know to come?” I asked.

Andreas moved closer to the bed and sat down on the edge. “I had just come back from an errand and I used a noise enhancer spell to hear if you had returned from your excursion. I expected to hear the rustling of pages or the swishing of water, but instead I heard him call you my whore and I lost my temper.” Just recalling the memory seemed to bring back the fury within him. My gaze once again drifted to him.

“Why did that make you lose your temper? Isn’t that all I am to you? Some girl you had sex with that you now allow to live in your house?” Tears were brimming in my eyes. The reason Elijah’s words had stung me as much as they did was because I had realized that they were true.

Andreas’ hand clenched the sheets of my bed. He was making a visible effort to keep himself composed. He didn’t reply.

“You told me that you didn’t care about me, several times. You said that nothing that happened between us meant anything to you! So why would you get mad if he only called me exactly what I am?” I demanded, desperately needing an answer from him.

“Because I lied!” Andreas snapped. He pulled his right hand through his hair and looked everywhere but at me. My mouth dropped open. No. He… no. He did not make me go through hell thinking I was merely used by him because of a lie. He had to be untruthful now. Moments passed and neither of us said anything. I waited for him to expand on his explanation.

He finally looked back at me. “I lied to you, Lana. I lied because I can’t make sense of my own feelings. Having you believe that I feel nothing for you was easier than having to explain to you that I can’t even explain to myself why I’m drawn to you. I don’t know why I had this insistent need to save you when we first met. I can’t explain it. I knew that if I told you I didn’t care and that my motives were impure, you’d believe me. And then I wouldn’t have to try to make sense of my feelings.” He paused to collect his thoughts.

I listened intently, not wanting him to stop just yet. I wasn’t sure I was ready to believe him. He wasn’t finished and promptly continued. “When we had sex, it didn’t mean nothing to me and that’s the problem. Initially I had thought that it wouldn’t mean anything and that my attraction to you was nothing other than a physical one. I thought that once I had sex with you, I would return to normal. It’s why I tried so hard to seduce you. But it didn’t work…” his voice trailed off and he stared at the ceiling. “It had the opposite effect that I was hoping for. After having you, I wanted you more. But it was, and still is, messing with everything I am. The way you were causing me to feel was impairing my reputation and I needed it to stop.”

I took in a deep breath, but it shook. “I tried everything,” he continued, without missing a beat, “to get you off my mind, but nothing worked. None of those girls you’ve seen me with have done anything to change my mind and I kept catching myself wishing they were you. When your friend called you my whore, I lost it because that is the very last thing you will ever be to me, Lana. You do not deserve to be called by such a degratory name when you have never been a whore.”

My head was spinning too fast. This was too much. The information was overwhelming. I couldn’t tell whether he was lying to me now, or if he had been lying to me before. “How do I know this isn’t the lie?” I asked softly.

“You don’t,” he replied, stirring memories of the night we had met. If it was any indicator, his confession could turn out to either be good or bad for us. I had no way to discern which way it would go.  

“You hurt me in your attempt to figure out your feelings,” I stated numbly. “I don’t think I’m ready to forgive you yet if what you are telling me now is the truth.”

Andreas nodded, his expression hidden behind the mask he always wore. “Then I will leave you in peace. But I have one question before I go.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you bring that man here? Your intuition should’ve warned you the moment you stepped foot on the property.” My eyebrows furrowed and he provided further explanation. “The manor is situated on a very powerful energy line, one that helps enhance the power of magic users. It should make your intuition stronger. It should’ve warned you of his true intentions.”

So I hadn’t simply been paranoid earlier, it was just my intuition warning me. All this time I had thought it was the house that had given me an uneasy feeling while all along it had just been trying to warn me about Elijah. I realized I hadn’t given Andreas an answer and turned my head away, realizing it was too embarrassing to admit.

“I wanted you to know what it felt like to see me with someone else so you would know how much it hurt me to see you with all those girls,” I said in a very small voice.

Andreas’ demeanor was once again indifferent and he attempted to keep it that way, but this time I could see him struggle not to react. Without a word, he disappeared, giving me the time alone he said he would.

Slowly, I got up from my bed and headed over to my tub, filling it with hot water. If ever there was a time I needed to relax, this was it. I sunk into the tub and let it wash away the stress from that day as if the warm water had taken on healing properties I never knew it had.