His eyes momentarily widened at her latter words, and for a moment, Lena almost felt as if she'd finally broken through his misdirected fortification.

But to her sorrow, Renz shook his head.

"You're too young to understand what that means. You're too trusting. You fail to consider your own safety. And you still look upon me with a very naïve heart. We're not a fairy tale, Lena. We never have been," Renz said.

Lena glanced warily down at his hands, noticing the way his large, clenched fists almost seemed to mirror hers of just a few minutes ago. Even now, she knew that Renz would never strike her in the...