"Your love is what kept me holding on for as long as I did. In truth Alex, there was nothing that could have saved me. He infects, he gets under the skin and then I...by the time I'd noticed how far I'd fallen it was too late. He's not a war I can ever win. That's what I've come to understand, and yet every time I think maybe I should just be staked, that the world should be safe from me, I wonder if instead, this is the time I'll win. Its why I try, over and over, cycle after cycle. Its why I'm still here. Because hope is a powerful thing but love is even more powerful. And I want to be better for you. I want to be the man you deserve."
He watched as she let go of her control. Every fibre of his being telling him to run. Telling him poltergeists were rage and fury and anger and nothing else. But he stayed. Because it was Alex. Because it was the woman he still loved and because of course he had caused this.
And the strength it must have taken for her to pull it all back in.
"Of course I still love you. Don't you see that's why he targeted you so completely. He knew, you had my heart. You still do." He finally reached out and let his hand meet hers and loosely intertwine, not knowing how she'd react or what she'd do. "Even at the depths of it, even when I was drinking blood. I thought I could control it and keep myself safe. And I wanted to be safe for you. I wanted to slow the cycle as much as I could. I didn't want to leave you with him for decades. And I know you told me it would happen. I know you told me I didn't want help. But there's no stopping the change, all I wanted to do was have more time with you. But I was a fool to hope for better."