"Holy Mary, Mother of God!" Livia quickly scooped the sheet tighter around herself, nearly strangling herself with it in the process. "I don't get why you keep doing that."
"Listen… I know that you are hoping for another man," he said. He bit his lip before saying more. "I know that," he continued. "I know your heart is already looking down a road I may never be standing on."
Livia looked away. Richard forced himself to keep speaking, because if he stopped now, he would hide behind another joke and lose the moment.
"I am not asking you to forget him. I am not asking you to choose me either. I just hope," he said "even if it is useless, that when the time comes, you would think about me. Just a little."
Livia had no response. Words failed her. If she found Henry today, would she even go back to him as a woman to be kept? Before, the answer would have been simple. Henry would find her, and she would run to him. He would take her away, protect her.
