"I did not say you were manipulating me. Or tricking me. I did not say that at all! Simply, that you said exactly what you meant to," He said, now his turn to follow Athelstan as he went to the stairs, "That your apology is empty. The only thing that you are sorry for is that I am not."

It was a little ironic that he was claiming not to feel guilty, sorry or that he regretted anything when he was clearly both angry and fighting a multitude of other more painful emotions that were threatening to break through.