“The probability?” His turn to smooth away tension, eyes flickering shut as he sought out that calm center. He knew the words were likely said in an effort to provoke, but he was still not especially fond to know that they had been said at all. “And that was your solution, aye? That I was quite welcome to follow those interests wherever they may lead me. I suppose I ought to be grateful. A man ought to consider himself lucky to have such an understanding wife. If not, why invite discussion at all?”
She was not Melinda, but he would not have wished her to be. A part of him held to the happy ending they might have had, but the more pragmatic side of Mikino knew that things would likely never have worked out well for the two of them. Love was a start, but it was not enough.
Her assurance that she was here for his sake, and all that meant to her, did somewhat to placate him, and his response to that was more reasonable. “You risk setting a dangerous precedent with this, Avalynn. Making me believe the only way I can get you to confront me is by upsetting you enough.”
He considered her question for a moment, pushing himself away from the desk as he did and walking idly past her just for the sake of being out of his chair after far too long sitting about. “Is it fair to say I am not certain? I have loved you in some form or another for a long time, Ava. It is not something I would change, but it does make it challenging to sort out in my own head. I’ll not deny that piece of my reputation. I have earned it. But everything is magnified when people talk of it. When it comes to who I take to my bed… I apologize if it is crass, but one woman is not so very different from the next. There is appeal to something new, but then there are benefits to familiarity as well. And there is something to be said for loving the one you are with. So no, I do not require your permission to sate those particular desires elsewhere. I want a family. I want something safe and comfortable to look forward to when I am not trapped here. I want someone I can have these discussions with who will not weigh my every word. And we are not there yet, I know that. It will be a hard habit to break, for me especially."