Lulu curled his neck to tuck in his head, assuming his very best duck-ball impersonation. But... maybe Halsin was right. His role bore the greater weight in what happened between them, but to just leave the way she had was far more hurtful than anything else.

The question had him laugh quietly. "I have no doubt. She's... she's always been independent. The world was so full of idiotic Plans and rules and she didn't want her life planned for her, and defied everything. It's a big part of why I was so crazy about her when we first met."

He fell silent. "It was... just a shock when she left. I spent so long looking back for signs. Did I fuck up here? Maybe I should have said something different on that particular day or something. It got me wondering for some time if I was..."

The best shrug a duck could ever perform. "I dunno, ever... good enough... to be worth another person's time again, as irrational as I know the thought is."