Teaser: Regret

Selene stared obstinately at the cup of hot tea in front of her. The distinct curve of her lips said she was moderately annoyed by what had just been revealed to her. But the deep sadness in her eyes spoke of an effect of Noel's words that was much more powerful than she wanted to admit. "The day you left without telling me was right after you and Alex talked about my future?" she spoke as if unable to digest the information properly.

"Why?" Noel's tone made Selene want to look up to meet his gaze, but she forced herself to focus on everything else other than her childhood friend. "Do you regret the choice we made for you, Selene?" there was a note of accusation there that bothered Selene to no end. "Do you regret being with Alex?"

"You're taking things out of context!" Selene's voice rose in frustration. She loved Alex. She wanted to marry Alex. She had no doubt that she would love to be his wife, the mother of his children, and his companion for life. She mellowed her tone, but it remained colder than Noel had ever heard. "Don't you dare imply that I don't love Alex. That isn't fair."

"So what's your problem?" Noel asked, raising his eyebrow, as if to challenge. "Why are you so upset?"

Selene looked like she wanted to cry. "You can't possibly understand, Noel. You're fixated on the idea that you made the right choice for me--for the three of us."