"Ciel… do you not love me…?"

Those words haunted me for a week; I couldn't focus on work, which was piling up quicker than I could manage. The Queen was hounding me to do another case for her, but I could barely keep up with the chaos and confusion in my own home. Every time I saw Elizabeth I wanted to rip my hair out and run away from her tortured pleads. However, she had every right to be upset; I bailed out on her, on the one night of few that we had time to spend together. The tension between us grew so much that I began sleeping in the guest room, and our meals had become silent. Even the servants were worried, though they didn't say anything with me around. I could tell they got along well with Elizabeth; she needed someone to talk to during my present state of angst.

One day, at the end of the week, I sat working feverishly on statements and company orders. My wrist was sore from writing long letters, but that was the pain of falling behind.

Dammit… if I hadn't suggested that dinner… I wouldn't be in this mess…

Leaning back in my chair, I set my pen down and massaged my aching wrist. "Heh… I wonder if Elizabeth is talking about me to her friends…" I muttered to myself.

Not that I really cared, except for my reputation was at stake because of that woman's mouth…

Two timid knocks stirred me from my thoughts, and Elizabeth's face peeped through the crack of the door. "Ciel? Am I bothering you?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm at a good stopping point," I lied, straightening my shoulders and adjusting my collar.

Elizabeth stepped inside, a floral bag at her side and her hair tied up in a bonnet. She wore a light travelling jacket over a simple light green dress, and walking boots were laced up her thin calves. "I've been invited to stay with Katherina and her husband for the next month. His mother has fallen ill and they need someone to look after the servants," she said thinly.

I closed my visible eye, sighing with a mixture of relief and guilt. However, something didn't quite settle right with me. "Elizabeth… Mr. Cumberly's mother died of tuberculosis ten years ago, and his father never remarried."

My wife sucked in air, her face paling and her fingers trembling. "I-I think you're mistaken, Ciel… Katherina's letter says-"

"I don't care what her letter says; the Phantomhive estate is well connected with the Cumberly's, and I know for a fact that Mr. Cumberly's only surviving relative is his cousin in Liverpool," I snapped harshly. "Are you that desperate to separate yourself from me?"

A heavy sigh shook Elizabeth's shoulders as she grasped her handkerchief with unsteady hands. "I love you so much, Ciel, but I can tell that you don't love me."

My eye widened. "What?" I gasped.

"If you truly loved me, you would have held me that night, comforted me… and you didn't."

I leapt up to my feet, my palms slapping loudly on the desk. "Dammit, Elizabeth, you're the one who told me to forgive and forget, but I can't! The thought that I failed you has been torturing me every day! Isn't that enough proof of my love for you?"

My shoulders heaved with every breathed, my heart pounding hard and fast against my chest. Elizabeth looked scared, her lips trembling and eyes wide. I've yelled at her before, but never had I done so with such passion and anger. Curling my fingers, I fell back into my chair and looked away.

This sudden hatred of her… I hate it…

"If you want to go, I'm not stopping you," I finally breathed, "however, once you leave, there's no guarantee the door will still be open."

Elizabeth nodded. "I understand. I… I love you, Ciel."

When I didn't respond, she quietly took her bag and left, closing the door gently behind her. For about an hour, I sat in complete silence, staring at the door in anticipation of her return, but she didn't come back. The time for dinner had come and gone, and I was still sitting in that pitiful state wearing a blank expression. Around midnight, the door opened again, and I immediately jumped up shouting, "Lizzy!" only for Sebastian's face to appear in the candle light.

"Master?" he asked with a cock of the brow. "What are you doing still here?"

I scowled, falling back in my chair and crossing my arms. "What concern is that of yours?" I snapped back.

Sebastian tilted his head slightly, his brows raising and eyes half closed. "Anything you do is my concern; you are my Master," he stated, slowly coming up to my desk and setting down the brass candle holder. "Mrs. Elizabeth left this at the door for you, if you are willing to read it," he added, taking out a white envelope from his breast pocket and handing it to me.

With a growl, I grabbed it out of his hand and tore open the letter, not even bothering with a letter opener. The note was short, but the words jumped out at me with such surprise I couldn't bring myself to read the rest. Crumpling it up with shaking fingers, I threw it at the ground, screaming, "That bitch! I'm going to fucking kill her!"

My butler calmly reached down and retrieved the note, smoothing out the wrinkles and quickly scanning over it. "I see…" he muttered softly, "so she's pregnant…"

I stood quickly, shoving back my chair and lowering my head in shame. "So… I wasn't good enough? I gave her a home, servants, more money than she can dream, company… what more could I give her?" I whispered to myself.

"It's not a matter of what more you could give her, but what you couldn't give her," Sebastian stated bluntly, "she felt it necessary to hide her pregnancy by forcing you to sleep with her because she knew you wouldn't have the means to do so casually. Had you succumbed to her deceit, you would have never known."

"Damn her…" I hissed through gritted teeth. "Damn her to Hell!"

Sebastian remained silent, a disinterested expression covering his face. "Master, there is no need to damn her, since she has damned herself," he sighed.

I glared at him with a cold eye. "What do you know about damnation? You're a demon who damns poor souls without hope of reconciliation; you damned me, if I remember correctly," I growled.

"One cannot seal the fate of the other; it is a self act."

Pausing in the midst of my anger, I calmly turned to Sebastian, my anger suddenly turning from Elizabeth to my butler. "You… you knew of this, didn't you?"

For a while, he didn't answer, but I could see on his face the truth; he did know. He knew from the very beginning of the affair, and he didn't bother to tell me. This simple butler… this demon cost me my marriage and happiness. Once again, because of him, I was alone.

"Why didn't you tell me, Sebastian?" I asked, slowly drawing out the syllables of his name with a harsh tone.

Sebastian sighed confidently, answering, "If I had told you, you wouldn't have seen her for the witch she is; you had to be hurt to know the truth. I thought you were used to lies and deceit from those you cherish."

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks, my chest constricting with rage. "Sebastian… what do you think gave you the right to withhold that information from me?"

"… your happiness, Master."

We stood glaring at one another for a long while, the silence between us so intense, I thought my lungs were going to burst. His crimson gaze was haunting; all the times I've seen those eyes, I felt so weak and alone. I wanted to leave, turn my back on him and walk out, but his eyes held me there, paralyze. I was drawn to this look, somehow. When he finally closed his eyes and looked away, I felt as if a dark shroud had been lifted up.

What… what was that…?