Pg. 240 Quince trying to confess what he said
"What did you tell him?" Lily asked, spinning around to face Quince in Aunt Rachel's kitchen.
He sensed her pure rage, the ferocity that Lily felt. It felt like an impenetrable wall; there was no right answer to that question. Nothing was going to help his case. She'd had the last several hours of swimming and driving back to sit and stew in her feelings. "Lily-"
"You told him you were moon-eyed over me, didn't you? That you have loved me from afar for three years and you can't stand the thought of being apart?"
Quince shook his head, his heart racing in his chest. She was pissed, and her anger was rubbing off on him, too. Her refusal to listen or even communicate was beyond infuriating. "Now, that's not fair-"
Aunt Rachel shouted from upstairs, catching both of their attention to glance in that direction. "Lily, is that you, dear?"
Lily kept her face turned toward the stairs, "Yes!" and then she turned to look him in the eyes, her deep green eyes filled with determination. "What did you say to him?"
Quince tensed as he stood in the kitchen, considering his options. He couldn't come right out and say what he said, because even though he tried to be fair, Lily didn't want to hear it. But the king had asked for honesty. He clenched his jaw, then relaxed, then clenched it again. Nothing seemed like the right answer to her question. Everything was the wrong answer, to Lily, about that question.
"I told him the truth," he finally settled.
She crossed her arms over her chest, "And what exactly is the truth? It's getting so hard to keep it all straight."
Quince took a step forward, starting with what he knew she wanted to hear. "I told him that you can't stand me."
"And…?" she continued, eyebrows raised inquisitively at him.
Quince swallowed, still trying to decide if she could have this conversation, calmly, with him, right then. "And that I-"
Aunt Rachel interrupted just then, leaving Quince free from answering.
And that I care about you, and I want to be with you. After all, he knew that if she couldn't handle those words, there's no way that "love" would even be a consideration for Lily.
One week.