บท 144: Cold, Hard Light of Day

ELIA

She woke feeling sick, shaky, and terrified.

Reth had never rejected her before. Never. And now he did it because she was determined to be the agent of her own fate? Because he hated his own weakness for loving her?

"Do you hate that you love me? Or just hate that other people know it?" she blurted out as soon as she had blinked awake. There was two feet between them, the first time she'd ever woken not touching him since they started sharing furs.

And even though he sucked in a breath and rolled over, he didn't close the gap. "Good morning, Elia."

"Tell me, Reth," she said, surprised by how calm her voice sounded. "Do you hate that you love me, or do you just hate that other people know you love me?"

He pinched his eyes and yawned. "You're going to have to give me a few minutes to get my brain working again. I didn't sleep much last night.