[center]Out of all of the things that Christian had expected, he hadn’t entirely expected Kieran to come out with the truth so quickly. It almost caught him off guard, however, his emotionless expression did not waver. The man sat back in his seat, his hands resting on each arm of the chair in an attempt to keep himself in check. He would allow the male to speak, that much he knew. He needed to at least get his side of the story, although he didn’t want to hear it all in the same. There was no excuse good enough to justify what had happened to Clara that night; there was absolutely nothing that man could do to heal those wounds that continued to reopen. He really hadn’t a clue... 

Christians hands came to tighten around the arms of the chair as Kieran spoke. So, he would blame it all on being hunted and being out of his mind. No, he had not meant to hurt her, but he’d hurt her in more ways than one throughout all of the years of abandonment. Perhaps it wasn’t his intention, but he’d left a hell of a shit-storm in his wake -- one that Christian had tried to tame tirelessly. 

“You’re right.” Christian suddenly spoke, his voice oddly calm as he eyed Kieran, his eyes flashing in that anger that did not resonate throughout his body just yet. “You’ve entirely failed at both; yet first and foremost - you’ve failed [i]her[/i] more than you can ever understand. Quite honestly, I’m surprised you are even sitting here in one piece in front of me. I’ve no idea how that woman can stand to be around you, let alone stay in [i]your[/i] home. Perhaps it’s instinct, I suppose.” He continued, watching Kieran carefully. 

“Your little [i]mistake[/i] could have cost all of [i]us[/i] as vampires - but it had cost that girl far more than you can ever imagine. For years she’s been tormented, wondering what the [i]hell[/i] was wrong with [i]her[/i] - that she’d been left behind that way. Could you imagine? She truly believed it was something [i]she did[/i] to cause her to be abandoned; to cause her to suffer the way she had. She would have [i]died[/i] that morning - and hell, she’d tried to die so many times in the years following. But I doubt any of that crossed your mind. I doubt she’d even crossed your mind until I brought her back here -- a terrible mistake, on my part.” His words grew further harsh as he felt the rage growing within him. 

“I doubt you understand what an abandonment such as that could do to a person.” Christian paused. “For instance -- Ryanair. It’s easy to see he is one of yours -- and I’m sure that is such a wonderful sight for Clara to see so openly -- Could you imagine if he had simply been separated from you? I doubt he could continue on without being by your side for far too long - that pain of separation can get to a person - in more ways than one.” 

“And it amazes me that we’re here. That after all that you’ve put her through - all  of the suffering that she’s dealt with -- she’s still there to fight next to you - and you’ve hardly done shit in return. You know nothing of who she is; of who she became [i]without[/i] you. You simply continue to take advantage.” 

“You owe that woman the world, and I doubt you can ever begin to fix it. I’ve been with her since the beginning -- and I can’t even take that pain away.” Christian hissed as he stood. Clearly he was more a sire to Clara than Kieran ever could be, and to see Clara endure all of this in front of him - it only pissed him off even further. [/center] [@Arista]