“I’m not- I wasn’t leading you on,” Patience said tiredly. He was not sorry he had lied. He didn’t see any other way of existing. “You would have moved on before any of this became an issue. I am steady, and I am slow, and that, eventually, will not be enough for you. Look at you, Armaan. Already your career is blossoming. You will work your way up and follow your dreams, and that is exactly as it should be. And I… will be here. Always the same. Always your rock. Until I become an anchor holding you back. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t ask for it to be this way. You are so young, and you have so much to offer. It wouldn’t be right of me to prevent it.”