“I am in love with her!” I hollered beyond the point of containment. “And as a man who barged into a ball despite being stabbed, as a man who rode into a storm still with fever, you better than anyone else should understand that I simply cannot walk away from her. Do you not think everything you have said has not crossed my mind as well? Do you not think I tried to distance myself? I did. And failed. And in that failure, I realized my love for her was worth risking my life, my sanity, even my reputation, the same as you did.” I took a deep breath. “Nothing you say or do has power over me, Your
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