Silence fell—heavy, suffocating.
Seeing that he would not respond, desperation overtook her. With trembling hands, she reached for the ties of her robe. Silk loosened; her outer garments slipped from her shoulders, revealing the pale, slender curve of her neck beneath the lamplight.
"Do not send me away…" she pleaded softly, drawing closer. "Let me remain by your side…"
Dorian's body stiffened, just slightly.
He looked down at the woman before him.
Once, he had indeed been fond of her.
Though now he saw through her carefully wrought gentleness, though her deceit stood laid bare before him—still, the sight of her casting aside pride, lowering herself so completely in supplication… stirred something within him.
In the end, his heart wavered.
Yvaine, sensing the shift, pressed on in a trembling voice, "I know… you still hold me in your heart. Please… do not send me away."
Dorian exhaled slowly.
