"It was my clumsiness that caused the bowl to break." I lowered my eyes, hiding the hatred surging within them, and spoke in a gentle voice, just as I always had. "I didn't dare bother you because I was afraid you would worry."
His tense back suddenly relaxed, and a sigh of relief fell on my head. Then, his warm hands pulled me tightly into his arms. The familiar scent of cedar lingered in my nostrils. Once upon a time, this scent was my armor against all the storms of the world, but now it only made my stomach churn.
"Silly girl, how did you get yourself into this state?" He looked down, his fingertips gently stroking the wound on my ankle, his voice filled with deep tenderness. "It would break my heart to see you like this."
He knelt down and picked up my foot without any disgust, his big toe carefully stroking the bleeding skin. The anxiety and heartache in his eyes were so realistic that I almost believed it.