Her head ached as she awoke, even though the rest of her body felt like water, relaxed and calm. His hand rested upon her hip, his warm body spooning her from behind in a most affectionate way. She smiled to herself, remembering her night with him. It had been magical, the most perfect she could ever imagine. She hadn't intended to spend the night, truly hadn't intended to go to bed with him at all, if she were honest, but she wasn't necessarily regretful that she had.

He had awakened her once more, sometime in the night, and he made love to her again, staring into her soul the entire time. She had been unarmed in that moment, unable to escape the love in his eyes. She was surprised by it all, by everything that had happened over the course of her weekend, and it nearly felt as if she were living in a dream. But with the weekend over, the magic slowly dissipating into the reality of a Monday morning, she wasn't sure what her future would bring. Suddenly, her eyes sprang open, and she looked at the clock.

"Shit." She quickly removed herself from his arms, rushing to gather her clothes and hurrying to the bathroom. She would most definitely be late for work if she didn't hurry to catch the bus, and she was not willing to explain why.

Georg smiled as he heard her swear, certain she wouldn't have had she known he was awake. He watched her move faster than anyone he had ever seen with a hangover, certain she had one if he did, and she rushed away. Neither had clearly imagined where their night would end up, they had barely been able to feel comfortable talking to one another the day before, let alone…

She had been so passionate, so certain of herself and uninhibited, he couldn't believe it. He had imagined making love to her so many times in his past, lusted after her and needed her in more shameful ways than he would ever admit, but even his most filthy imagination couldn't have prepared him for how it felt to actually take her to bed. He made love to her with his entire heart, foolishly, he thought, as she would surely hurt him soon enough. There was no way she could ever want to be with him, or dare he think love him, after the pain he had caused her years ago. And then to leave her alone, lonely with no substantial human interaction, he couldn't bear to think what time must have done to her.

She rushed out of the bathroom, finding her shoes and stepping into them. Part of her felt terrible about it, but more of her knew she would likely never see him in that way again, as she gave one last look to the bed, grabbed her purse, and she rushed from the bedroom. She was not inclined to be the weaker party, to show how much their night meant to her, especially if she was merely a rebound for his ended relationship. She couldn't allow herself to be hurt again, it would surely kill her if she had to go through it all over.

Georg stayed still for a moment, wondering if she really had just left him like that. He sat up quickly, aghast at the fact that he was alone, and he rushed to find some clothes for the day. He rolled his eyes at the fact that she was really going to run to take a bus that early in the morning, dressed in her gown from the night before, which was certainly very wrinkled. He supposed she had never heard of a walk of shame, but she was going to be the picture example of one if she carried on the way she was.

She rushed down the stairs, praying that none of the children would be awake to see her, as she hurried to the front door. It would have been impossible to explain had anyone seen her, and she was certainly not looking for someone to question her at the moment. She hadn't even been able to wrap her mind around her weekend, let alone be able to explain it.

"Fraulein Maria?" Eyes wide, she stopped running. She took a deep breath for courage before she turned around.

"Good morning, Frau Schmidt." The older woman looked at her with curiosity, but an obvious knowing. She felt a blush course across her cheeks.

"Are you just leaving?" She ran a hand through her hair, wishing she had a brush handy.

"Yes, I'm afraid I'll be late to work." The maid nodded, seeming to wonder if she should say anything or leave it…but she knew she couldn't help herself.

"You're welcome to your old room, if you'd like? Nobody has been there since you, and I believe all of your clothes are still in the bureau." Her blood felt a bit icy at the thought. No wonder Baroness Schraeder thought Georg's heart wasn't in their relationship.

"Um, no, thank you. I think I'd best go home. It's been so lovely seeing you again, Frau Schmidt." The maid smiled, taking her hand in a form of goodbye before Maria rushed out the door.

She stumbled in the gravel driveway, annoyed that she could never master walking in the driveway without a stumble, and hurried to open the gate. Memories of times with the children flooded her mind as she headed down the road, the times when they would awaken early and venture out into the day. She craved the past, the days when she was truly happy at the villa, the days when her feelings for Georg were so simple. She desperately needed to move forward, she knew, yet there she was reigniting the flames from the past. It was such self-destruction.

And what on earth was she doing? She understood the physical aspect of it all; she was desperately lonely and needed to feel wanted, safe even, but she didn't understand why she had taken it so far. Of course she was impulsive, but even that was a stretch for her. Though, she would have been foolish to believe she would have spent the night with any other man. It had always been him for her, and she hated that. There was no way for her to move on when she couldn't make the affection she felt for him go away. He hurt her, kicked her out and sent her away all those years ago, and she needed to remember that. He would surely hurt her again if given the chance.

Suddenly, a car pulled up beside her, and she crossed her arms as the breeze from the chilly morning air hit her skin. Turning to see who was pulling so closely to her, she nearly fainted. He had looked to be sound asleep when she left, and she was grateful for it. It was much easier to walk out on someone who was asleep.

"Get in." His words were sharp, and she hesitated. She wasn't sure how safe of a driver he would be if he were as angry as he appeared. Not to mention the fact that she was unarmed by the sight of him.

"No thank you, I'm on my way to catch the bus." She began to walk away, but he drove the car along with her.

"Maria, I mean it."

"I do too."

"You look like a whore on her way back from a good night. You want to ride the bus like that?" She turned sharply, meeting his eyes with rage of her own.

"How dare you?"

"Get in." She bit her lip angrily, looking down at her wrinkled dress that tightly hugged her body, her nipples showing through a bit from the chilly breeze, and her legs bare, as she had shoved her stockings into her purse in her rush from the villa. She supposed he wasn't exactly wrong about her appearance. She huffed, giving in as she opened the door of the car and got in, slamming it angrily behind her. He began to drive her home, but couldn't remain silent in his frustration. "You were just going to leave. You did leave."

"Yes." She couldn't lie, she was absolutely just going to leave. She needed time to think before she spoke to him, if ever.

"Just yes? Honestly, Maria…"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, you could have at least said goodbye."

"And then what? You were just a one night stand for me, Georg." He looked at her, but she didn't meet his eyes, she couldn't. She was trying to hurt him, to create distance.

"The Maria I know would be appalled by what you just said to me."

"She died three years ago. This Maria…"

"Is a complete bitch." She turned to face him, finally looking at him with all the anger she felt.

"Pull over, let me out."

"No."

"Let me out of this car!" She took him aback as she yelled, but she refused to sit by and allow him to talk to her in such a way.

"I will not let you walk around town looking like that."

"Who do you think you are to tell me…"

"Looking like a common whore…"

"You were all about this whore last night, weren't you?" He slammed on the brakes, their bodies jolting as the car stopped. He threw the car into park and turned to fully face her, their eyes blazing into one another in pure anger.

"I have no idea how to talk to you right now."

"I don't want to talk to you. Why do you think I was leaving?"

"Because you're a coward."

"I'm the coward? What a joke!"

"Yes, Maria, you're a fucking coward! You can't even recall the number of times you've run away from something in your life." She bit her lip, her hands shaking as she tried to control her anger. "Three years ago…"

"You sent me away! You were too much of a coward to tell her you loved me, and I know you did." She was nearly in his face, her frustration having boiled over long before that moment. "You let her belittle and degrade me, and call me things I've never been called in my life, and you just stood there and watched. She could have spit on me, and you wouldn't have moved a muscle. And when she told me to leave, you did absolutely nothing! You couldn't even talk to your children about it, I was the one who had to do it. You let me suffer every single bit of it all. So, Georg, you're the biggest fucking coward I've ever met."

She wiped the tears that had fallen down her cheeks from her outburst, sighing as she leaned against the seat and crossed her arms again. She didn't want to argue, didn't want to open up and show him the pain she felt. She had buried everything for so long, her body felt battered and bruised as she spoke.

He remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Sighing, he put the car back in gear and continued driving her home. There was no need for him to make her late to work, he thought as they turned onto the road that led into town. She cleared her throat, composing herself the best she could as they drove.

"You're right. I did love you, I loved you desperately. I hate myself for how things ended between us, the way I hurt you."

"It's in the past, Georg…"

"Yet it was just so easy for you to bring it up." She bit her lip in frustration, doing her best not to blast off about anything else. She felt quite exposed at the moment. "I'm so sorry, Maria. I regret everything I did and didn't do that day. I should have told you how I felt."

"You were blinded by the idea of doing the 'right' thing, whatever that meant."

"You were supposed to be giving yourself to God, what would I have…"

"Why do you think I came back after I left the first time? I came back for you, you foolish man. I loved you more than I could have possibly said." He turned to meet her eyes, which were full of unshed tears, as they pulled up to her apartment. He put the car in park, sighing.

"I feel that we could argue for days."

"I could easily yell at you for days." He gave a quick chuckle, guessing that was very likely true.

"You lied to me last night, about being a virgin. Why?" She shook her head, wishing he hadn't asked.

"I never said I wasn't."

"You led me on then. Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters very much to me."

"Because there was a chance you wouldn't take me to bed if you knew. And I needed to know what it would have been like with you." He nodded, somehow understanding. He took her hand between them, but she tugged it away, crossing her arms over herself once again. "Please, don't."

"I still love you, very much." She closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears away.

"Don't say that."

"It's true."

"…but you can't. Our time is in the past."

"It doesn't have to be."

"You say you love me now. Why couldn't you have loved me then?"

"Maria…"

"How could I ever trust that you won't brush me aside if someone better comes along?"

"There has never been anyone better." She shook her head, knowing she needed to go if she had any chance of a shower before work.

"We need to let go of each other, Georg. This isn't healthy." He sighed, running a hand over his tired face. She reached for the door handle. "Thanks for the ride."

"Maria, call in sick to work and stay with me. Please don't go." His words nearly made her burst into tears, but she held back. She just couldn't.

"I was planning to take the children to the mountains this weekend. Do you approve?" He frowned, knowing she had heard him clearly.

"I can't take you away from them again."

"Good, they can meet me here, if you don't mind telling them, please." He nodded, and she rushed out of the car and up the stairs to her apartment. Tears fell from her eyes as she closed the door, her body collapsing upon the floor as she no longer had the strength to keep moving.