"Do you realize how stupid that sounds? You just asserted that I might have done so to make you feel guilty, what else would you call that?" Athelstan snapped. "I am sorry for what I said because I had no right to say any of it. But your son loves you and you don't know when to bend before you break something even if it is your own child, even if it is yourself. He is too much like you and you do not know how to deal with a mirror. It is frustrating to witness. You're never the one to deal with the wreck you make of the people who love you."

Athelstan's hands clench before he continues. "I had no right to tell you it was Dodger but you are..." he looks lost for the word. "You're my friend, who else do I have to tell what weighs on my heart? It's incredibly selfish of me, though. I regret it but I had no ulterior motive and I do not care that you are not sorry. I learned long ago that even if you are, the person you are sorry toward will never know because you are too prideful to show even the smallest amount of remorse."