Dominic Vance did not answer immediately. He sat there, in the dark corner of the familiar tavern, among his closest friends, and felt as if the whole world was collapsing around him.
"I understand." He said, his voice hoarse and broken. "I understand now."
He looked up, his empty gaze staring into the void before him. His fingers still tightly gripped the wine glass, but his voice was no longer trembling. It was even, slow, like a confession uttered from the very bottom of his heart.
"I loved him, I am not sure since when, but by the time I looked back, the feelings were already profound. It was just that I refused to admit it. I told myself that Lucien was merely a tool. I told myself that he was just a responsibility. I told myself that a man like me did not need love, did not need anyone. But I was wrong, I was wrong from the very beginning."
