Antony pulled away from Kaija's embrace and stared up at her, visibly stunned. For a moment, he searched her face as though trying to determine whether he'd heard her correctly.
The caution that usually lingered in her blue eyes whenever she dealt with him was gone.
What remained was something far colder.
Something sharper.
The look she wore now wasn't merely anger. It was the expression of someone who had just discovered a wound and immediately started looking for the person responsible.
The realization left Antony momentarily speechless.
For all the frightening things people said about him, for all the ways others avoided him, feared him, or misunderstood him, he couldn't remember the last time someone had looked genuinely furious on his behalf.
"I..." Antony swallowed. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way."
Even as the apology left his mouth, he wasn't entirely sure why he was apologizing.
Kaija clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tsk. That's not even what I meant."
