“How could he claim to love her, when he did not love what was essential in her?”

“How could he love her when she’d destroyed so much?”

“Could he love this girl the way she deserved? He could love her with everything that he was, and still it wouldn't be enough. He would fuck up somehow, because that is what he did.”

“How what she had done could never matter since he knew he could not cure himself of loving her”

“Trust ran both ways. How could he ask her to trust him when he hardly trusted her?He would trust her, in her love, in her strength, in her decency and fortitude.And when the time came, he would find the strength in himself.”

“What does Éloa mean?”He narrowed his gaze, answered her literally. “It’s the name of an angel.”Penelope tilted her head, thinking. “I’ve never heard of him.”“You wouldn’t have.”“Was he a fallen angel?”“She was, yes.” He hesitated, not wanting to tell her the story, but unable to stop himself. “Lucifer tricked her into falling from heaven.”“Tricked her how?”He met her gaze. “She fell in love with him.”Penelope’s eyes widened. “Did he love her?”Like an addict loves his addiction. “The only way he knew how.”She shook her head. “How could he trick her?”“He never told her his name.”