.

charmedfreak3b - Did she, though?

Guest - I freaking LOVE you, by the way, for that epic review of amazing proportions! I want to say that Katherine's behaviors right now are very...calculated. I definitely need to do more Elijah/Henrik. Haven't done that yet, and you're right. It's needed. And you're right. Tyler isn't going anywhere yet. I'm so happy you're loving this!

Guest 2 - Eventual fluff is coming, I swear. I just had to get some drama out of the way first. Forgive me?

JuseaPeterson - Awww well I am honored to have been a segue back into it! Having Elijah on your side is always a good thing.

TwilightHybrid - I think you might be onto something there with Esther and Henrik.

AllisonSwan - Thank you!

Thank you my lovely darlings for reading and leaving me such beautiful reviews! And of course for following and favoriting. You all rock.

How is everyone holding up? I know we got served the ultimate in crappy finales and it's been hard getting over it, but we're all in it together. For the record, I do plan on continuing to finish the fics I've already started so don't worry, even death cannot stop true love. Or me writing my fics. That said, this may not be the most effective chapter to cheer people up lol Don't worry, no one is dying. And there's oodles of cuteness. I'm just on an angst bender. It's almost over, I swear!

Also, I want it to be known, I've been doing a lot in terms of legal research and discussion with my soon-to-be lawyer friend in order to maintain a level of authenticity. On that note, I do retain the right to some fictional liberties. Hope ya don't hold it against me! Happy reading!


PART 11

Caroline and Henrik waited in the office until the school could decide what to do in the current predicament. She had called Elijah right away to let him know their situation. He said he'd leave work immediately and go to the station to sort things out, but it left Henrik in a guardian-less position. With Kol and Rebekah unreachable and Finn's compromising character, she appealed to the vice principal to allow her to take him home and look after him. It took some convincing, another call to Elijah, and pulling some serious strings to find a substitute on such short notice, but in the end her powers of persuasion won out. Especially since Henrik refused to leave her side. Together they drove in silence back to her apartment, both shaken and unsure of what the future now held.

She brought him inside and he followed her into the kitchen where she asked if he was hungry but he shook his head. She tried to coax him with hot cocoa but he said nothing. His eyes were as hollow as she felt and so, eventually, she retired with him to the living room where they watched television wordlessly.

A few hours later, a knock on the door signaled her attention. She told him she'd be right back but he remained mute. Katherine looked as soft as she ever had when she opened the door.

"Hey."

"Hey." Caroline smiled politely in greeting but it didn't go past her lips. She stepped aside to let her in.

Katherine entered, spying the five-year-old on the couch, immobile. She frowned. "How is he?"

She sighed. "He's pretty shaken up. He won't say a word."

Katherine shook her head, eyes narrowing in anger. "Here I thought she couldn't stoop any lower."

"Have you heard anything from Elijah?"

"Not yet. Whatever she said to them must have really made a ruckus."

"She lied." Caroline shrank back from Katherine's surprise. "I mean...she had to have, right? She has nothing on him. And she's an ex-con."

"She's also a resourceful bitch. She's brought down a lot of big names, and helped clear others that should have rotted under the ground they stood."

"What do you mean?"

"Klaus didn't tell you? She's a public relations guru. How do you think she met their father?" Caroline blinked, the new information dumbfounding her. "They worked for this big Fortune 500 where they rose to the top together, with no regard for who they had to crush to get there."

"So she knows how to play the crowds," she lamented aloud.

"The crowds. The press. The law."

"You don't think she's innocent either."

She snorted. "She's tried to break me and Elijah up more times than I can count. Why would I trust a word she says?"

"Why? What did she have against you and Elijah?"

"I was fourteen when I met him, fifteen when we started dating, and sixteen when he finally brought me home. His parents took one look at me and that was it." She shrugged, crossing her arms in more of a protective gesture. "I admit, I wasn't the most conservative teenager. Cropped tops. Ripped jeans. Maybe a little too much makeup. Of course Mommy and daddy couldn't let their precious son be seen with a low-class whore. Their words, not mine."

"Seriously? They said that?"

"Yup."

"But you were just a kid."

"A kid who lived on the poor side of town. We may not have had much, but we survived." She paused then, giving her a quick little once over with a smirk. "Esther would have loved you."

Caroline shuddered at the thought and the conversation was decidedly over when Katherine wandered toward the living room. Caroline followed, hopeful.

"Hey, Henrik... Look who came by."

Katherine smiled gently. "Hey there, smartypants."

He made no motion to greet her, his eyes staring at the TV screen blankly but not really watching.

"Henrik..." Caroline sat down beside him tentatively. "I know you're scared for your brother."

Again, nothing, except for the few quick blinks of acknowledgement.

"Elijah will bring him home," Katherine reassured him. "Eventually."

Caroline looked up and rolled her eyes at Katherine, giving her a look and mouthing "Seriously?" Katherine chewed her lower lip apologetically. Her shoulders dropped with a soft sigh.

"You can talk to us, you know," she continued. "About anything. What you're feeling..."

But it was useless. He wouldn't budge, even a little. She glanced to Katherine worriedly and the brunette shrugged, at a loss. Henrik suddenly heaved a heavy sigh but remained fixated on the cartoon dogs running amok on the screen. Caroline frowned, her heart aching for him. She lifted her hand to take his in comfort but he pulled his into his lap before she could even put hers down. In the end, she decided to let him be, hoping, praying that Elijah would find a way to get Klaus released tonight and bring him home.


Afternoon quickly became evening and there was no hope in sight. Elijah never answered Katherine and any efforts to try to contact Kol or Rebekah remained futile. Finn was the only option but Katherine refused and there was a brief argument when she stole Caroline's phone to keep her from making the obvious mistake. The quarrel was forsaken when Henrik walked into the kitchen, catching them both off guard. He still wouldn't speak but Caroline managed to get him to nod his head to eat a little dinner.

Hunger overtook all of them, and by the time they were finishing up, there was a knock at the door that put them all on alert. Katherine insisted and excused herself to answer it, in case it was for the worse. Caroline's heart was pounding but she forced herself to stay with Henrik and wait. Moments later Katherine was back and Elijah was walking in behind her. Thump. Thump. Thump, went her chest. She strained to see past the two of them, hoping. The moment that Henrik turned his head Elijah moved just an inch and the weary, ashamed silhouette behind him became Klaus.

"Nik!"

Henrik jumped off the chair with no regard for its crash to the ground and ran to his older brother. Klaus dropped to his knees instantly and wrapped him in a tight hug, eyes squeezed shut and reveling in relief to be holding him again. Caroline swallowed hard against the lump that was forming in her throat, her relief washing over her in an icy hot tremor.

"I'm so sorry, Henrik," he said, muffled against his hair.

"You leaved me," Henrik murmured, his little fingernails clutching at his back.

"I didn't want to." He finally let his hold loosen so he could look the five-year-old in the eye but his hands remained holding his shoulders. "They forced me to go with them." Henrik pulled on the hem of Klaus' shirt, hanging his head down. "I won't let them do that again. I promise."

"How?"

"Well, I'll tell them. I can't go with you, officer. I made a promise to a monkey." It won a smile from him that he fought with all his might to try to contain. He brushed his hair from his face, looking him in the eye. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Henrik raised both of his tiny hands to hold his brother's face between them. He looked at him a long time, as though he was searching his eyes for an answer, and then he nodded, throwing his arms around his neck and locking tight. Klaus hugged him again, picking him up to hold him as he rose to his feet. His eyes went to Caroline's then, who had been watching with a heartfelt smile.

"Thank you," he said, and though his face was solemn, his words were sincere.

"Of course."

Henrik's legs locked around his waist as far as they could reach and he hugged his baby brother tighter in comfort. "My apologies for putting you all through this."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Caroline told him.

"She knew what she was doing," Katherine agreed.

"I just can't believe she would set you up like that."

He shook his head as he sat at the table with Henrik. "She didn't."

"An anonymous tip claimed that there was an incident of stalking in front of the Mystic Elementary school," Elijah told them. "After some persuasion, I was able to learn that it was a Tyler Lockwood who made the call."

Caroline stiffened, her heart rate tripling at the mention of his name. She glanced to Klaus and found her reaction didn't go unnoticed.

"The police were already on their way to investigate when our mother appeared," Elijah finished.

"And of course she manipulated the situation." Katherine shook her head. "Clever bitch."

"Katerina."

"Sorry."

"The outcome was inevitable," he said. "She was there to antagonize."

"She succeeded," Klaus grumbled.

"She's not the reason the police took you away, Niklaus." The three of them gaped at him but his resolve was stern. "You had a choice in the way you reacted."

His eyes were huge, enraged. "She instigated! She brought up – " He gritted his teeth and huffed through his nose, lowering his gaze. "She mentioned things she knew would infuriate me."

"In front of Henrik's school. Where Henrik could see you. Along with several other witnesses. Our mother does not act without cause. How do you think this will look if she manages to bring the case to a courtroom?"

"Can we..." Caroline winced. "Maybe not talk about this right now? You know, with..." She cast her gaze towards Henrik.

"I'll take him," Katherine offered, starting to reach.

"No!" Henrik whined, clinging to Klaus.

"It's all right," Klaus soothed him, rubbing his back in a circle. "I'm not letting go."

Katherine glanced to Elijah coolly. "Told you. Kids have an aversion to me."

"Not now," he said quietly.

"It's been a long day. Why don't we take a little rest, monkey?" Klaus suggested, looking briefly to Caroline. "If that's all right."

She smiled feebly in approval and he rose to carry the sleepy five-year-old out of the kitchen and down the hall.

. . . . .

The small guest room seemed bigger than he remembered. Then again, he'd just spent the last few hours in a holding cell, waiting for Elijah to talk his way to freedom. He couldn't get the images out of his mind the whole time – Henrik's tears and Caroline's terror. Elijah was right. If he'd only acted rationally, if he'd contained himself just a little, perhaps things might have gone differently. Perhaps he wouldn't have hurt them, despite always having a penchant for it. He wanted to blame Tyler for calling the police; Esther for hitting on sore nerves; the police for believing her lies; but it was none of them that had reacted physically. Just as it wasn't Tatia that had incited the argument that led to her death.

His heart was heavy, conscience even heavier, and his mind was going haywire with shame. He sat on the bed and tried to push it all away.

He had turned the blankets down, and when Henrik had returned from the bathroom in the borrowed shirt of Caroline's, he climbed right up into his designated spot. Once settled, his curious eyes studied his older brother's face.

"Are you in trouble, Nik?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about, monkey."

"Why did the police take you away?"

He sighed, knowing the relentless nature of the five-year-old. "Because a very mean person told them I did something that I didn't do."

"And they believed the meanie?"

"They were very convincing."

"But they lied. How come the police didn't take them away too?"

"I don't know. But do you want to know what I do know?" He tapped his nose. "It's your bed time. So no more questions. Close your eyes and dream. No more worries."

"Are you gonna stay?"

"I'll be right here when you wake up."

He sat up then, kicking the covers off so he could stand on the bed and give his brother a loving hug. Klaus smiled and wrapped his arms around him, groaning loudly.

"Time for bed for all wild things!" he grumbled in Henrik's favorite monster voice.

The boy giggled as Klaus scooped him up and laid him back in place, tucking the covers around him once again. He smoothed the blankets and nodded affirmatively as he lay beside him. Henrik turned on his side and smiled at him.

"I love you, Nik."

"I love you too, Henrik." He leaned over and kissed his temple, then whispered, "Dream of Neverland."

. . . . .

Out in the kitchen, the room fell silent and curiosity was killing the Katherine.

"So what happened?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss," Elijah evaded, his quick glance in Caroline's direction not unseen.

"Oh come on, Elijah." Katherine rolled her eyes. "She's already involved. You don't have to skirt around us."

"It's not my place." His phone buzzed, interrupting them. He pulled it from his inner jacket pocket and frowned at the screen. "Excuse me."

"Spoilsport."

Caroline stared after him in deep thought, also eager to know the truth, but something else was gnawing at her mind. She excused herself from the kitchen without a word, heading into the hallway to confront the concern.

The door to the guest room was open enough to peek her head in. Henrik was fast asleep on Klaus' chest, but the latter lay staring at the ceiling in intense concentration. She rapped at the door lightly with her fingernail and his head turned. She offered a tiny, questioning smile to which he maneuvered his way carefully out of the bed and met with her in the hallway, closing the door fully behind him. He heaved a sigh before starting, the melancholy still in his eyes.

"I can't begin to apologize enough for what I caused."

"It's okay. It's not you I'm upset with." She crossed her arms. "You didn't tell me he was there."

"I was a bit preoccupied with being arrested."

"You could have given me a heads up. He left before she got there." He said nothing, his tired eyes beckoned her mercy. "So...what did he say?"

"He told me to keep my distance, in more or less words."

"While he was the one breaking radius." She scoffed in disgust. "Typical Tyler."

"I take it he's done this before?"

"He doesn't know when to back off. Even after I tell him to."

"He seemed very adamant about our involvement."

Her eyes flickered with worry. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you tell me, Caroline?"

"I told you, he keeps tabs."

"On you. You didn't say he kept tabs on me, as well."

She pressed her lips together hesitantly before letting her breath out and shaking her head, turning slightly away from him to hide her guilt. "He looked at your parents' files and tried to warn me to stay away from you, but that's not his call to make."

"So he knows our family's history." He began walking back up the hall towards the living room, Caroline keeping pace.

"He knows you on paper. And...it's not like I even care what he thinks or what he had to say. Everything he does is driven by his own jealousy, which is totally insane considering he's got a wife and kid of his own! Yet he still has to butt into my life every chance he gets!"

"Maybe he's right."

She stopped so abruptly it made him turn. "Oh no. Don't you dare try to turn this into an out for yourself."

"There's more to this than you know, Caroline. More than I want you to know about."

"No," she insisted, meeting his eyes with determination. "I have let him drive away too many people. I'm not letting him do it again."

"If it's in your best interest, maybe you should consider it."

"Consider Tyler? Are you serious?" He raised his eyebrows in refute. She blinked away her ridicule and stepped forward. "Are you using Tyler as an excuse," her voice softened and she reached up to caress his face, "or do you actually want this to end?"

He searched her eyes and while his mind was an erratic fleet of racing indecision, his heart was firm. Her thumb stroked his cheek and he let out the breath he'd been holding.

"No." Her body eased and he pulled her against him in a hug, stroking her hair. His defenses shattered and everything he'd been through that day dissipated. "I don't want this to end."

"Me either." She turned her head and rested it against his chest, listening to his heart find its pace. "I'll talk to him. Make sure he leaves us alone from now on."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I can handle Tyler."

"What if his little stunt was to garner your attention?" She blinked, the thought never having occurred to her. "Perhaps it's best you leave well enough alone when it comes to him. He's already brought the police into this once."

He was right.

The sound of Elijah's raised voice suddenly interrupted their moment. Katherine's voice chimed in just as loudly soon after. Caroline lifted her head from his chest and they shared a concerned glance.

"That doesn't sound good," she said.

They followed the sound of arguing down the hall and it grew louder as they neared.

"It's the TRUTH!" Katherine's voice came loudly.

"Keep – your voice down, Katerina," Elijah warned.

"You were the one that wanted this, Elijah. Not me."

"We agreed on it together. You're letting your fears get the better of you."

"No, I'm letting you get the better of me," she snapped.

"What's this?" Klaus asked as they approached. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Not now, Niklaus."

"I'm going home," she declared, snatching up her purse from the coffee table and making a beeline for the door.

Elijah hurried after her worriedly. "Katerina, please."

She turned around, pointing in his face, nearly taking an eye out. "Do not follow me."

He watched in distress as she swung the door open and let it slam behind her. Klaus and Caroline were bemused.

"What was that about?" Klaus ventured.

Elijah squeezed the rim of his nose before turning around. "A difference of opinions."

"You're itching to go after her, aren't you?"

"I'm fighting it with every fiber of my being."

"Why don't you?" Caroline asked.

"He'd face an even bigger wrath," Klaus told her, tiredly lowering himself onto the couch. "Hell hath no fury like Katerina Petrova."

"Your comments are not warranted, nor are they appreciated."

"Okay, down boys," she mediated, coming between them physically as she sat too. Elijah stayed on his feet, his nerves making him idly pace.

"My apologies, Miss Forbes. It's been a very trying day."

"It has," she agreed, lacing her fingers through Klaus. "For all of us."

Elijah's index finger dragged across his chin, though he didn't dare to look at Klaus. "Have you heard from any of our siblings?"

"I received a text message from Kol. He tried to warn me about Esther."

"Rebekah?"

He nodded. "They managed to escape in Esther's absence."

Elijah turned to face him now. "Where are they now?"

"She didn't say."

"That's probably for the best."

"They'll turn up one way or the other."

Elijah nodded. "When the timing is convenient."

"Did you ever get to talk to Finn?" Caroline asked suddenly. She frowned, almost pained. "I kept going back and forth all day trying to decide if I should have called him..."

"You did the right thing," Klaus assured her, squeezing her hand. "He's likely too far gone."

But Elijah shook his head. "He has his wits about him," he told them, "but he is still desperate to seek Esther's approval. When we spoke, he insisted I make more of an effort to reason with you for the return of Henrik."

Klaus blanched. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him he was welcome to try for himself, though to be cautious considering your history of ignoring rhyme or reason."

There was a sinister smile shared between them, a brotherly moment of mischievous reminiscence that made her wonder if she should be bothered. She'd figure it out another day.

"So what do we do now?" she asked instead.

"Hard to say." Elijah began to pace again. "She won't want to make another appearance anytime soon. She'll lay low, for now, but we need to take the obvious precautions until we find can figure out her next move."

"And get one step ahead of it," Klaus added.

Caroline sat up, suddenly. "You can." She looked between their dubious expressions, eagerly. "You guys built that mansion and moved here while she was in prison. Her name isn't on the lease so you can file a trespassing complaint. It makes her look bad and if she tries to come back it's an automatic class one misdemeanor. Which means jail time and a serious fine. Like, almost two-thousand dollars."

Klaus was amused. "Brushing up on your state laws, love?"

She waved a hand at him dismissively, trying not to blush. "Never mind how I know. You guys can get your home back and it will totally throw her off her game."

Elijah switched his contemplative peer to his brother. Klaus leaned forward, hesitant. "Could it work?"

"I would have to take a second glance at the lease," Elijah said, "but I do believe there is a mention made that forbids Esther and/or Mikael from stepping foot on our property."

Caroline beamed. "Then it's already a crime."


Mystic Falls Town Hall - parking lot - 4:45 P.M.

With hope on the horizon, and a plan set in motion, the following day went by peacefully. Elijah left shortly after their plotting but decided to pursue Katherine rather than return home to Esther and Finn. Klaus stayed behind, keeping his promise to be there when Henrik awoke to take him to school with Caroline. There was a brief tiff when Henrik refused to go, wanting to stay glued to Klaus' side. In the end, they managed to convince him and she made Klaus swear to be on time to pick him up this time, in case Finn decided to make good on his threat to keep him from ever picking him up again. Or worse.

When all was said and done, the school day began and Klaus and Elijah initiated their scheme. Esther was detained by lunch time. They would deal with Finn when he got home, but kept Kol and Rebekah out of the loop until they were sure of their eldest brother's intentions. He picked up Henrik on time, as planned, and promised her a phone call later that night once they'd spoken with Finn. She was fine with that. She needed the break. She had issues of her own that needed to be dealt with.

Almost two hours later, she was still sitting at the café outside of Town Hall, waiting for a certain defense attorney to finish his work day. As the clock approached five, she finished her latté and got up, heading for the direction of the parking lot. His black luxury car was in his designated spot, just shy of the curb. She saw him walk down the steps of the building and hastened to make sure she could cut him off on the sidewalk.

"Tyler!"

He looked up from his phone and slowed to a stop, stunned to see her there. As she got nearer she noticed the trace of fear in his eyes. Good.

"Before you say anything – "

"You have no right to be messing with my life. Or the people in it."

He put his phone away and smoothed his suit jacket, standing tall. "I'm not gonna apologize when I did nothing wrong. He was the one stalking you."

"He wasn't stalking me! God, if you gave a crap about someone other than yourself for a minute you would see that!"

"I saw him outside the school watching you from his car. What was I supposed to think!?"

"Supposed?" She scoffed a laugh. "You were supposed to not be anywhere near the school. Or did you forget about the restraining order?"

"I was looking out for you."

"Newsflash – I don't need you to look out for me."

"Look, whatever I did to hurt you – "

"You cheated on me!"

"- doesn't mean I don't still care about you."

"Tell it to your wife, Tyler." She turned to make an exit when his hand caught her wrist.

"I'm not done with you," he demanded, turning her back around almost bumping into him. She gaped up at him, eyes widened with fear. She swallowed it back and pushed away from him, glaring when he wouldn't let go.

"You were done with me a long time ago. And now, I'm done with you." She broke out of his hold and tried to storm away. She stepped down off the sidewalk and made it only a few feet past his car. This time he grabbed her upper arm and pulled again, seizing the other one so she was facing him. She gasped when he tugged her against him, his eyes searing into hers. Her heart began to pound, the familiar feeling choking her with terror.

"Tyler, let go of me," she pleaded.

"Why do you always have to be so damn difficult?" His hold tightened even more and she could feel her pulse throbbing against his fingertips in pain.

"You called the cops and caused a scene for no reason," she reminded him, wincing as she tried to fight his grip. "Which traumatized a five-year-old, by the way."

"I called the cops on a criminal," he argued.

"He's not the criminal, you are." She stomped on his foot as hard as she could and he shouted in pain, one hand loosening so she could push away but he still had hold of her other arm.

"Fine!" he growled. He jerked her forward sharply then let go so she stumbled back and lost her footing, hitting the ground hard, landing on her side, enough time for her elbow to catch the brunt but not to keep her head from bouncing off the pavement. Stars blinded her and the world whirred in dizzy spurts. She blinked through her disorientation trying to place him but all she saw were feet walking away from her. Somewhere in the distance she heard a car door slam and an engine revving. When she came to, Tyler's car was gone.


Caroline's Apartment - 8:29 P.M.

Worry was something that Klaus had grown accustomed to ever since he was a child. He worried over what his father might do to him, or how his mother might perceive his actions, or what his siblings might face if he hadn't taken the rap for them. With the tragedy of events that followed over the years, his worry became increased. He worried over Henrik the most, and he worried less and less about his own mental status. And when Caroline wouldn't answer his several calls and text messages that night, his worry knew no bounds.

He could wait her out, see what excuse she claimed in the morning when he saw her to drop his brother off, but waiting was never his strong suit. And she had never made him wait before. It was especially infuriating tonight, especially when he was at her door, knocking and receiving no response. It had been five minutes. He waited a minute longer before raising his hand to knock again when, at last, the door tentatively opened. He was prepared to unload but when he saw her, he couldn't speak. Her eyes were averted and she hid herself halfway behind the door. It wasn't open enough for him to walk in, but enough for him to see what he needed.

Her eyes were puffy and red, traces of black from residual makeup making them more sunken in than they were. More unnerving was the open gash at the corner of her forehead, still bright red with blood and glistening from the antiseptic she'd put over it. An accident, he was hoping, but the dread in the pit of his stomach expected otherwise.

She meekly looked up, a fleeting glance, before stepping back to let him in. There were no words, the unspoken questions lingering in the air, suffocated by tension. He walked in slowly, almost afraid to turn around and see what else she'd been hiding.

She closed the door, her back to him, and he glimpsed the finger printed bruises on the backs of both arms, the wide scrape along her elbow that looked like porous patchwork amidst the purple and black skin. His heart clenched and behind it his rage was bubbling.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Caroline turned around, leaning against the door and hugging herself. Bloody hell, she was still shaking. Her head hung in shame and he wanted nothing more than to wish away her suffering, to tell her she had no reason to feel at fault. She said nothing, antagonizing his anger even more.

"Who did this, Caroline?"

She took a deep, shaky breath, and without looking at him said, "You should sit."

He didn't want to, but he did as she said. It took a few beats for her to muster her courage to walk over and sit beside him, but she still avoided eye contact. His never left her face, never stopped worrying over her wounds in his peripherals.

"I didn't tell you everything about my relationship with Tyler," she confessed.

His eyes flew wide. He swallowed back his fury. "You went to see him."

She sighed heavily. "I'm sorry." Her voice was thickening, and she still wouldn't meet his eyes. "I just wanted him to leave us alone."

His mind raced and adrenaline rushed through him right down to his fingertips. He could feel the cool numbing of his body as rage began to flourish. He fought it back and focused on her in its stead. He turned her head, fingertip lifting her chin, his thumb grazing her cheek in a comforting reassurance. His expression was adamant but his voice stayed soft.

"This is not your fault," he told her, and just that simple acknowledgement was enough to break the gates open. She fell into his arms and sobbed against his chest, soaking his shirt clutching him for dear life. He stroked her hair, holding her all night, all the while plotting his revenge.