For a moment, there was nothing but silence in her mind. Every other thought, every resolve and conclusion she had made prior to this meeting was shattered like glass and replaced by that one sentence: Mikasa, I've always hated you.
Hot tears welled behind dark-gray eyes as Eren's vicious words cut through her heart like a warm knife through butter. His cold, angry gaze took her breath away as she gazed into his lifeless eyes, devoid of emotion or remorse. Mikasa was rooted to her chair, her trembling hands gripping the table so tightly she thought it might break. This was not her Eren. He was bright and full of life, an outpouring of emotions and passion and vigor. She knew Eren, and he would never, ever treat her this cruelly.
She did not know this person. This man with his hand raised in the air in a mockery of a greeting and blood running down his palm. His hateful words and blank, lightless stare.
The boy who promised to wrap that scarf around her neck again and again was gone, replaced by this monster of a man. Mikasa could feel her heart breaking over and over as she shrunk into herself, his accusations destroying any self-confidence she had left. You are a slave. Mikasa, I've always hated you. A tear slipped free and dropped silently down her cheek as she bit her lip to keep from sobbing out loud. She truely, deeply hated herself at that moment. Hated the way her tears made her look weak, hated the overwhelmingly devastating effect Eren's words had on her, hated the insecurity now rooted deep in her soul.
Most of all, she hated the fact that no matter what he did, how he treated her, who he hurt, she would always love him.
