Chapter 84 Breaking Bonds
Sitting on the bunk they'd shared for the past few weeks, Dee watched the man she loved flinch as his eyes fell on her as he entered their cabin. In that instant, she accepted that she'd truly lost Lee—assuming she'd ever really had him in the first place. It felt more like he'd been on loan to her, and it was finally time to return him to his rightful owner. In her heart, she knew this day was inevitable, yet the pain still came as a shock.
She felt Lee's searching gaze and saw surprise in his blue eyes. He probably had been expecting her to start berating him about where he'd been—and with whom—as soon as he'd stepped through the hatch. Not bothering to hide her hurt, she did manage to set aside the anger, in its place was a resigned acceptance. Feeling the emotional chasm widen even as he crossed the short physical distance between them, she shifted sideways on the bunk so Lee could sit beside her.
Looking now into those intense blue eyes, she was struck by how she had never noticed how shadowed they'd become…until just recently. Thinking back, she could almost pinpoint when they'd lost their startling luster. The morning after Founder's Day on New Caprica. The morning that Kara Thrace had promised herself to another man.
Since the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, she'd seen the passion that marked the Starbuck/Apollo, Kara/Lee relationship. A part of herself had believed that she might ignite that same intensity within Lee, yet it had never happened. Their time together had been filled with a comfortable tenderness instead. No matter what happened now, Dee couldn't regret saying yes to the man that sat beside her—and in her heart.
"Dee—" he started, but was silenced by the finger the petite woman laid lightly against his lips.
Locking her gaze to his, "Don't Lee. I told you once that I accepted that you were mine until Starbuck came back. I'm a big girl and made my choice. I deserve your respect, not your pity. So, just don't try to apologize, Ok?" She dropped her hand to her lap.
Lee turned his head away from the dark one so close to his. "I'll speak with dad. I can move into the pilots' bunkroom so you can stay here," he offered.
"Like I said, Lee," now an undercurrent of anger did heat her voice, "I don't want your pity, and I don't need you to give me your cabin because you feel guilty. These are the CAG's quarters now, not mine. The officer's quarters were good enough for me before, and I have friends there. I'll be fine," she stated with a lift of her chin. "I'll be by later to gather my things."
Dee let her eyes say goodbye for her as she met Lee's. Then, breaking their lingering contact, it was she that stood and, with her head held up, walked out of the cabin—and their marriage—without looking back.