Patient as he were throughout the explanation, the feeling of disbelief steadily rose within him until his stare could no longer contain it, and so he hung his head, defeated.

"That isn't a solution, that's desperation."

Maybe he wasn't entitled to speak of circumstances he had never been a part of, slipping into a judgmental tone as if he could claim to understand what sort of thoughts had driven them to achieve that conclusion, and none other. What was that had driven her to accept the unforgivable, since the implication behind the words made her involvement an indisputable fact. What else could it have been, if not repeating the mistakes of the past at the cost of countless lives? It wasn't a choice anyone should have been allowed to make.

It frightened him to know how many others had contributed to making that twisted plan a reality, but as long as the one whose version of the story interested him the most sat beside him, he couldn't let his focus wander off anywhere else. Yes, he found it painful to believe in.

No, he could not bring himself to react with anger, and even disappointment was merely a fleeting emotion that soon gave way to sorrow. She was stronger than that, he knew.

"And through that desperation, you thought you could take it upon yourself to bear that burden."