Kathryn didn't speak, but Doc Simon observed in satisfaction that the young woman now sat tensely on the sofa, her back ramrod straight and her elegant fingers curled into fists on her lap.

" You're an exceptionally intelligent girl, " - Doc Simon, murmured.

" You know I'm saying the truth, don't you, Kathryn Ice? May I call you that --- " - Doc Simon, added..

" No. " - Kathy, answered.

The doctor started at the girl's cold voice and when he glanced at her, he almost found himself rearing back at the fierce intensity in her violet eyes. A shiver ran through him, and he suddenly realized that this girl would be more than happy to dance on his grave. 'She disliked him that much', Doc Simon thought, and this angered and offended Doc Simon's great pride so that it pushed him to reveal his inner emotions for the first time.

" Don't start putting on airs, " - Doc Simon said nastily.

" When we both know who you were before Kristina Rewis dressed you in jewels and furs. " - Doc Simon, added.

Kathryn Ice's expressionless face didn't alter at the doctor's outburst, and her voice was mild when she said.

" I don't own any jewelry or fur, Doc Corba. " - Kathryn had only meant to correct the doctor's misassumption about her wardrobe but it only seemed to goad him further.

" You think you don't deserved someone like me, don't you? " - Doc Simon accused.

" Yes. " - Kathryn couldn't lie, she said simply. This time, the doctor looked like he wanted to kill her.

Throughout his years of being a physician to Greece's rich and famous, Doc Simon had struggled with insecurities fed by his greed and envy. The more he saw of their wealth, the deeper his sense of injustice became. He had every right to be as rich and powerful as all of them were. The only difference between them was that his parents had been truer than with Kathryn Ice. 'If not for Rewis blood running through her', Doc Simon thought angrily, she would have remained the slave of a lunatic and maybe starved to death in a couple of years. She was nothing without her name but because she was an Rewis, she was everything that Doc Simon, despite all his hard work, was not. In his self-righteous anger, the doctor failed to realized that he was completely wrong about the Rewis heiress in one sense. Kathryn Ice, whose years with Madame Antonia had taught her perspicacity beyond her years, had never been fooled by the doctor's obsequious manners. A such, she did not dislike Doc Simon Corba. She simply did not trust him. And because she did not trust him, she did not believe she deserved him. 'How could she when she didn't know him yet?'

" I'm afraid you have no choice, Kathryn Ice. " - Doc Simon used the girl's given name with relish.

Again, Kathryn Ice only cocked her head to the side in silent question.

" You are too young and sick to live alone. I will request the courts to put you under my care as you have no one ... " - Doc Simon

" But Doctor Corba, " - Kathryn interrupted quietly,

" Did't I tell you? I am not alone. " - Kathryn, added.

" The staff doesn't count, " - Doc Simon said impatiently.

" But I'm not talking about the staff. " - Kathryn said.

" Then who? An imaginary friend? " - Doc Simon, snide remark came out before he could stop himself.

And Doc Simon flushed guiltily at how childishly petty he had become. 'But it was all her fault', he told himself. She had insulted him first! But when Kathryn Ice spoke, it was obvious she hadn't taken offense at all.

" No, Doctor Corba. " - Kathryn beautiful face remained serene, her voice unruffled.

It was as if he had no power at all to affect her, and the doctor perceived this as another slight to his pride. Insecurities fed his hatred, and all his good intentions were forgotten as he said coldly,

" I wonder, Ms. Rewis. " - Doc Simon spat her name out.

" Maybe with your grandmother dead, you realized you've been living a lie all along? The greatest lie of all. Maybe you've come to know that without Kristina Rewis, you are nothing and you have to go back to Madame--- " - Doc Simon said.

A flicker in those violet eyes and Doc Simon wanted to laugh triumphantly at it.

" Yes, " - Doc Simon gloated.

" I know everything about Madame Antonia, and if you ask me, I think she had it right on how to handle someone like you. " - Doc Simon, added.