“I canna let you die like Da,” he said softly. “And yet ye canna let me live,” she replied.”

“He hated having to look for a new girl, a new spy to add to his band of fallen women. Yes, it was an opportunity to spare her before her ruin could be known, but a deep part of him hurt for the women in his employ and what they’d all endured.”

“No more sounds emerged as he walked through the forest, save the whisper of the leaves above. Though nothing further appeared out of the ordinary, he knew one thing for certain. He was not alone.”

“It doesna matter the direction necessity forces ye to take in life, it matters which way ye go when ye have a choice.”

“She needed this. For the comfort, for the love, for all the glorious things she did not deserve and yet could not stop herself from wanting.”

“He didn’t save women. He damned them.”

“I canna let you die like Da,” he said softly. “And yet ye canna let me live,” she replied.”