~ Camilla

I didn’t expect him to move again. For a long, suspended heartbeat, Stephano just stood there across from me, breathing like a man holding himself together with sheer willpower. His eyes, those sharp, cold eyes that had once terrified me were soft. Open. Completely unguarded.

Then his voice came, low and hoarse, barely above a whisper:

“Camilla… I can’t change the way I treated you.”

A pause. His throat worked, like the words were knives going up.

“But I promise to spend the rest of my living existence apologizing… if you’ll have me.”

My gasp was audible. It was tually audible. It sounded like some ridiculous startled bird...