Forgive Me

At first, Dante assumed he had misheard. But when Laina repeated her words, he was dumbfounded. 

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, confused as to what he could have done to warrant such a response. 

Dante thought Laina was joking with him. But it soon became clear that she was serious. Confused and caught off guard, attempted to clarify the issue. 

He leaned in close to Laina, attempting to wrap his arms around her. But this time, she move away. Dante clenched his jaw. He was about to shrug his hands back when he stopped in his tracks. 

"Laina, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern, "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No, of course not!" she replied without skipping a beat. 

But Laina could not look him in the eye as she spoke. She averted her gaze from him and could barely keep her composure. She hated doing this to Dante, especially after what had happened. But Laina had no choice.