'Poor lad,' was all Alaric could think as he neutrally observed all the emotions filtering through the massive Demon Dragon's sinuous expression.
"My whole life…" Cassius began to mutter, his enormous form slowly shrinking and returning to what it originally was. "My Extreme Hyperthyroidism, my Dilapidating Body Deterioration Syndrome, all the isolation I was forced to endure because of my hideous looks… That was all… you…?"
Bella repeatedly nodded, hearts still swimming inside her sparkling eyes. "Yep, yep, that was me, my love! Me and Daddy!" Suddenly realizing something, she hysterically added, "But you see it, don't you!? That I did all of this for you!?? I couldn't have any more thieving b*tches—like the ones you temporarily have at your home—latching onto you, so… so I did the only reasonable thing!" She clasped her hands and stared at him as if he were the whole world to her.