The light mist of arctic rain pattering ever so softly against his forlorn body, Logan lit his cigar and sucked on it greedily. Not for the first time in his lonesome life, he was angry at the little stick of poison. Why couldn't it damage his lungs and steal his life away like it did to so many others? Would his healing factor ever allow him to whither away and die? Would he ever feel mortality capture his last breath?

Logan sighed, puffing more urgently. He sniffed, shrugging his shoulders so that his leather jacket would tighten around him. He wasn't necessarily freezing, but the bitter, crisp wind found its way underneath his skin. He relished on the chill, comforted by knowing that he hadn't gone numb…that he could still feel. Not that he needed the snow to remind him of the piercing ache in his chest.

Softly falling footsteps behind him tore his eyes away from the frost-covered gardens. His nose told him who it was before his eyes even had the chance to soak her in. Unsure of what to say, he dropped his gaze to the stone flowerpot by his feet. Taking another drag, he shifted his weight, growing uneasy under her penetrating stare.

"Why," she whispered; all traces of hostility gone. Instead, the word was unnervingly empty.

Logan snubbed his cigar out with the steel-toe of his crocodile-skinned boot before braving a hauntingly solemn look her way. "There are no excuses, Marie," he murmured, afraid that speaking any louder would cause her phantom to disappear. "And I won't pretend there is one."

Marie nodded, stepping slightly closer. The moonlight grazed her face, showing how pale and exhausted she had become in the last two hours. "There is no excuse, but there is a reason. Why did you do it?"

"She was there," he admitted.

"What about me," she accused, still without anger. "Did you think of me at all?"

"God, Marie, I know I screwed up. I won't cover up…or give you a sob story…I fucked up big time."

Marie bit her lower lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. "You betrayed me, Logan."

"I know. If I could take it back, I would."

Marie wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to fight back the shivers that ran through her blood. "How could you do it, Logan? How could you throw away our marriage for one lousy night of sex? Do I mean that little to you? Were our wedding vows just something for you to spit on?"

Logan sighed, his shoulders slumping further. "You're everything to me, Marie. Everything."

"Obviously not everything. You sacrificed me for sexual pleasure. Do you have any idea how degrading that makes me feel? How unbearably pathetic that is?" She gritted her teeth, finally showing a spark of fury. "No, of course you don't. You have no idea how foolish I feel."

He titled his head, perplexed. "Marie, you did nothing wrong. This was all my doing. I did this to us."

"I know, but," she tapped her chest right above her heart. "All of this makes me feel so…responsible. I never should've let this happen. We never should've gotten married. Deep down, I knew you would be unfaithful. Marrying me was swearing off sex forever. If only I had control over my skin…"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Don't do that, Marie. You're not to blame. We both knew what our marriage would entail, but we went for it. I swore to be faithful, but I broke that promise. It's not your fault you can't touch. And it's not your fault that I slept with that woman."

"I know, but I can't help but feel inadequate as a woman." She wiped away a few escaped tears. "Do you know how often I dreamed of making love with you? Do you have any idea how badly I want to touch you. I would sit in the bathroom and cry, cursing my deadly skin and how it kept us apart."

"Marie," his voice was panged. "I…"

"No," she restrained. "Don't. Just don't. It doesn't matter. None of it does anymore." She began to walk back into the mansion, but paused in the doorway. "You know what I want?"

Logan shrugged, terrified of what she had to say.

"A divorce."

And with that, she vanished into the mansion, leaving Logan barely able to breathe as her words slammed into his gut. How was he going to live without her?