[Lorna has never known Anna to lie about anything, particularly about her own feelings, so she has no reason to doubt her when she says she won't be upset. And yet here she is, quaking in her proverbial boots at the prospect of telling her all she deserves to know.]

[She thinks back on what the man on the network told her, and tries to find her courage. Take heart, she tells herself. If she loves you truly, she will understand.]

...It's not your anger that I fear.

[She admits quietly, her voice soft and reluctant, each word pried forcefully from her throat.]

Disgust, perhaps. Resentment. Horror.

[She has to stop there, her lips pressing together into a thin line as she turns her face away and tries to smother down the sudden wave of emotion that's overcome her.]

[Damn her voice, why can she not speak plainly just this once?]

...You've given your heart to a monster, Anna. I'm sorry. I should have told you from the very beginning. I should have warned you. I should have - Heaven help me, Anna. I should never have let you hold my hand before you saw the blood on it.