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"It was me...the one...the monster...it was me?" Ayame mumbled into my shoulder in between sobs. It was scary. The sound of him crying. I had never heard it before and it seemed otherworldly, unnatural, even fake.

But it wasn't fake. I could tell for sure when he finally looked up into my eyes and I saw a deeper sorrow in them than I had ever seen in anyone else's. "It was me?" I didn't know how to answer him or what he was talking about. "I was...we always thought...but it was me?"

Instinctively, I ran my hand through his hair to comfort him somehow. "Ayame, I'm really sorry, but I don't know what you mean. Can you...can you please explain it to me? How did this happen?"

He sniffed. Looked away again. "The curse. It foretold that 'when one who was never loved is loved', it would be lifted. The entire family, we always thought...we always assumed this prophecy was referring to the cat. He was the monster of the Zodiac. The outcast. The one that would never be loved. But...I think the monster is me, Tohru."

My heart sank, and my mind started spinning. "Y-you? But in the story, the snake was always a part of the Zodiac-"

"It makes perfect sense actually!" he suddenly exclaimed, interrupting me. "I was never loved. Kyo, he was. Kazuma and Kagura loved him at the very least. But me? I had no one. My parents hated me, and my brother-well, he may have had some desire for me to protect him like a big brother should, but it was never love."

"What about Shigure and Hatori? They love you, Ayame. I know they do," I offered.

"Yes, they're my dear friends, but that type of love must not be powerful enough."

I racked my brain. For some reason, I wanted to prove him wrong. I hated the idea of no one loving him except me. "What about Miss Kuramae? I-I don't know for sure, but I think she might have loved you."

This gave Ayame pause. He slid off me and rested next to me. Propped his elbow on my pillow and put his head in his hand. "You're right. She may have loved me. But perhaps it has to be reciprocated."

"So you never loved her? Not even a little?"

He shook his head. Looked at me with grave seriousness. "No. Tohru, you are the only one I have ever truly loved in my entire life. Besides myself, that is."

I couldn't help it. My face heated up and my hand reached out to caress his cheek. He took my hand in his own and brought to his lips for a kiss. And for the first time since our first time, things felt normal. For a moment, I forgot everything. It seemed like just another day. Lying in bed with him. Hearing his romantic words. Feeling close to him.

"But Ayame, why now? You know I've loved you for months."

"And I you," he confirmed. Once again he appeared deep in thought. Then he chuckled. But it was a chuckle full of something I never thought I'd hear from him: self-hatred. "I'm not sure, I'm only hypothesizing, but...perhaps I had to prove myself a true monster before this process could take place. And I certainly proved that today, didn't I?"

With that, he slid off the bed and stood facing the opposite wall. His hand to his forehead. Until it was knocking over a tray of an empty glass and bowl that had been sitting on a small desk nearest him. I jolted upright. "What in heavens' name was I thinking?!" he cried. "I-I almost raped you. And according to you, I already did. Kyo would have never...none of the others would have. Only I could do something that repulsive. I...I...my mother and Akito were right all along. I am a good-for-nothing, filthy, useless, horrible man...I...oh, god, I really am the monster of this story. "

I didn't know what to say. Ayame, who rarely had anything but the highest praise to give himself, was now tearing down his entire existence. It pained me to watch him say these things. But at the same time, I knew they were true. It was the most bizarre kind of agony I had experienced, and I said nothing.

After what seemed like an eternity, he turned around to face me. Fresh tears clung to his eyes. "And yet you still love me? Even now?"

"Yes." I didn't hesitate. I should have hesitated. The answer would have been the same one way or another though.

Wiping his eyes dry, Ayame chuckled again. That one chuckle. I didn't like that chuckle. "Well, then. I'm a monster, and you're a fool. You know, every man in this family loves you, or could if given the chance. Out of all of them, you wanted me. Probably the only wrong choice you could make."

This statement made me uncomfortable. I felt like it was untrue somehow. But I couldn't think how it was. So once again I said nothing. And the silence was only broken again when Ayame continued: "But you can stop now. You've broken the curse; there is no longer a need for you to love me, so you should stop. You truly should stop."

I looked up at him and pulled my blanket around me tighter. "You-you want me to stop loving you? I'm sorry, Ayame, but I'm confused. In your letter...and just a few minutes ago...you said, you said you couldn't live without me, you said-"

"Forget what I said then. If it took something like today to make me realize what kind of man I am..." He stopped and shook his head. "You need to stay away from me from now on, Tohru."

"But-"

"Isn't that what you wanted? You wanted to break up with me anyway, didn't you?"

I froze. That is what I wanted. Obviously I couldn't stay with a man that hurt me the way he did. So why was I protesting this? "Well, I...yes, I do think we should break up, but that doesn't mean I can just stop loving you!"

He then walked over to the bed again, leaned down, and pressed his lips against mine gently. I knew it was our last one so I closed my eyes and kissed him back. Enjoying his warmth, his taste, his tenderness.

He then pulled back. Offered me a soft, sad smile. "You must try, my princess." Then he turned and walked out the door.

The very next day Shigure called all of the Sohmas to an elaborate banquet at his house. There was a lot to talk about. A lot to celebrate. He invited Akito, but I doubted she would show up. He also invited me, of course, but I wasn't sure if I could stomach being there.

"Are you sure I should go, Shigure? It's really a family affair, and I wouldn't want to impose-"

Shigure rolled his eyes, smiled. "Tohru, none of us know how or why the curse was broken, but I have a sneaky suspicion you had something to do with it. Our family has changed since you came into our life, and you've become a very important part of it. Of course you should come."

I smiled meekly. "A-all right, if you really want me there, but-"

"No more buts! Everyone will be expecting you, and everyone will be thrilled to see you! Now go change into a pretty dress and come downstairs at six!" he sang happily, heading back into the kitchen.

No, he wasn't actually cooking anything himself. A fancy caterer was here, Shigure spent half of his latest book advance on him, but the dog (or former dog) enjoyed 'supervising' the process. Which really meant he just lingered in the kitchen and watched the professionals at work, at times commenting things like "sweet potatoes with cinnamon, I can hear my stomach grumbling already!" and "I can't wait to put a piece of that pot roast on my tongue!"

I walked up to my room. I could hear faint noises coming from both Yuki and Kyo's rooms. Dresser-drawers being opened and closed. The sound of water from the sink. Brushing of the teeth. I smiled softly. At least those two would be there to make things okay.

I took a warm shower. Trying to calm my nerves. Ayame and I hadn't discussed what we would tell the others about the curse being broken. But when they came home yesterday, Shigure was just as confused as Yuki and Kyo, and if Ayame was going to tell anyone the truth, it would have been his best friend. So, figuring Ayame wanted to keep quiet about it, I acted as surprised and mystified as they were.

Shigure still suspected that I had somehow broke the curse but he couldn't figure out how. I merely said "Oh, it probably has nothing to do with me! I'm really not all that powerful, Shigure!" but he remained unconvinced.

That was one of the big reasons why this dinner made me feel sick. I knew that all of the Sohmas would be discussing theories as to why the curse had broken. I would be a part of a lot of those theories. I hated lying to them, but I also hated the idea of one of them figuring out the truth. I don't know why but it still hurt every time I thought of the fact that Ayame very possibly had been the "monster" of the Zodiac. The one never loved.

The other reason I didn't want to attend was because Ayame himself would probably be there. I had no clue how that would work. No one knew we had broken up just yesterday. So would we have to act like a couple the entire night? Or would he avoid me completely? Neither option seemed all that appealing.

All the secrets. All the lies. They were catching up with me. Making me feel nauseous. But it would be even more suspicious if I didn't show up at all.

So after getting out of the shower (which I stayed in for much longer than I needed to), I trudged over to my closet and opened it. Almost all the dresses inside were made by Ayame's hands. I found one in the back that I had bought from a department store almost a year ago. Before any of this started.

It was knee-length, strapless, and black. Very simple. It wasn't as unique or personalized as the ones Ayame made me, of course, but it was the only one I wanted to wear.

After getting changed, I put my hair up in an elegant bun. Some diamond studs in my ears. And just a touch of raspberry-colored lip gloss on my mouth.

Glancing at the clock, I saw it was time. It was 6:15 already. I took a deep breath and headed downstairs. I could already hear some laughter, some excited chatter in the dining room. And the cartwheels in my stomach only intensified.