He was close enough to slap a hand down on the desktop. It rang in the otherwise quiet room. "Enough, Julien! Elani and I are friends." It sounded wrong though, didn't it? Wrong enough that he backed off a step, paced away and then back. The truth was... the truth was they were friends. They were.

"And it shouldn't matter. Her, me, both of us. Because I'm sick of it and she deserves better. We're not pieces to be shuffled around a board for your amusement and gain."