The Cause

What?! He had been pretending to be her friend all this time, harboring such wicked intentions, and she had only just realized it. Holding the photo, she pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration.

She slapped the photo down on his lab bench, angrier than she had ever been. “Tell me, did you do this on purpose?!” He smiled faintly and answered with complete candor: “I made a plan, took action, and did it all deliberately.”

She rubbed her forehead, at a loss. For the first time, she had no idea what to do. He was determined not to let her go. “Don’t tell me that after all this time, you haven’t felt a thing. I won’t let you banish me.”