I Quit, You win

Once spoken, he could never take them back. It was funny how two simple words could turn his whole world upside down. He was not the victim of his harsh words, Elma was. Yet he felt he was the one who was hurt the most. His tone had pained her - he knew that. He could see it in her honey-yellow eyes, which were beginning to fill with tears. But he was hurt more. And it was partly her fault. If she hadn't forced him to do it...

The still small voice in the back of his mind nagged him for making such a costly mistake. Riccardo shrugged it off. Costly mistake? He was tempted to almost laugh it off, but for Elma's sanity...

How could blurting out two basic words unthinkingly be considered a serious mistake? Wasn't falling for a common thief an even bigger mistake? It was a felony to fall in love with her at all. Things would have been so much easier if he hadn't.