The study was a rather small room, all things considered, though that was mostly due to the many stacks upon stacks of books that towered overhead. Jaden had read every work in here at least twice, and even now, he found some measure of peace among the smell of aged paper and faded ink. As Clara came into his office, a fresh smelling storm of barely suppressed fury and outrage, he was busy thumbing through an aged-tome, clad in a cracked leather binding and held together with frayed rope-binding. His gaze didn't rise from the text at first, scanning the ancient words laid out before him for a few moments longer. With a soft sigh, he would close the tome with a loud 'Thump', setting it down on a nearby stack of similar-looking books. Situated in his large office chair, a monstrous black leather thing that seemed to swallow anyone that sat in it's maw just from the sheer size of it, Jaden tapped his thumbs together as he tried to think of how he should even begin to explain himself to her. His reasons, his fears, his wants, all felt much too trivial and selfish in the wake of what had happened. Perhaps because that's exactly what they were; trivial and selfish reasons from a man who still wished he could live life like a normal human again.

[color=Ivory]"I was supposed to tell you, the only person that I've ever truly grown close to in my years of immortal isolation, that I had the potential to become a monster at any moment if I allowed myself to indulge in even the slightest of my base desires?"[/color] While the words seemed mocking, he said them with a sense of guilt and regret, knowing full well that this was what he should've done. She'd had a right to know. [color=Ivory]"A better man than I would've told you sooner. Would've told you to stay far away and gone to spend the rest of their lives rotting from the inside, letting any hint of human feeling and weakness crumble away to hold the dark secret that I kept. . . but I am a weak man. I wanted to tell you many times over the years, but when ever I summoned up the courage to attempt, the fear that you would hate me, that you would find me repulsive, and more than anything, that you would leave me to my loneliness, terrified me."[/color]

"That isn't an excuse, however, nor could I apologize enough to ever make up for my failure tonight. It was foolish of me to think that I would be able to take a rest from my vigil against my inner demon." Grasping the arms of his chair tightly, Jaden took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his ivory hair, feeling a cold chill run through him He didn't want to say what he was about to say, but he knew that he had to give the option to her after what happened. She deserved this much, at the very least. [color=Ivory]"Clara, if you desire to leave now, after everything that's happened, then I can have your things arranged for you and money dropped into an account for you. Then you can leave and never think about me again. But before you decide on it, can I just say that I. . . I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for what happened. I understand that you may no longer want to see me, you can hardly seem to stand in my presence, but just . . . please stay."[/color]

Jaden gave up any semblance of authority as he got out of the chair, fell to his knees, and bowed his head in a plea for forgiveness. 

[color=Ivory["I . . . I don't want to be alone again."[/color]