The chair legs scraped across the floor with a piercing shriek.
"It really is you. It's really you. I knew I wasn't seeing things. It's really you."
Hilda stepped aside, dodging the hand he reached toward her.
"My father doesn't know about you and me. Don't come looking for me again."
Jasper's pupils trembled. His lips went white. "Hilda, you can't do this."
"You have no idea how long I've been searching for you. When I found out what happened, I nearly lost my mind. You can't even imagine what people have been saying about me behind my back. Hilda, look at me."
"I'm begging you. Look at me."
Hilda didn't so much as flinch. The fear that rose inside Jasper was unlike anything he'd ever felt, and his voice shook with it.
"Hilda, I know you resent me. And yes, it was my fault. But I'll make it up to you. All of it."
"Whatever you want, I can give it to you. I'll start planning the wedding right now, okay? We can go back to the way things were. We can just—"
Hilda cut him off. She couldn't stand another word.
"Jasper. Why?"
He blinked. "What?"