Page 41 of Valka

“By telling me you were someone else.”

“Yes. By telling you about myself, without being myself, so that you could decide if you wanted a male who matched the description I gave you.”

“How do I know your description of yourself is accurate? It’s not saying very much for you that the entirety of introduction was a lie.”

“Do not listen to my words, listen to Oscal’s.”

“I don’t like being lied to.”

“You have been lied to before.”

“A lot,” she answered.

“You will not be lied to again,” he promised.

She watched him silently, weighing his words.

“You have been hurt before.”

“A lot.”

“You will not be hurt again,” he promised.

“Katva,” she said.

“I am Katva” he needlessly said again.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you are?” she asked, “and don’t say it was so that I could choose.”

“It is because you wanted to choose for yourself,” Katva answered.

“How did you plan on telling me you’d lied? How was this supposed to work out for you?”

“I planned to be kind to you, while still being strong, and let you see for yourself that I am a good male. I am worthy of a good female.”

“Then you’d tell me who you really were,” she said.

“Eventually,” he agreed.

Bettina stood there, watching him suspiciously.

He stood there, watching her right back.

“Why did you let me believe that I had a choice, then?” Bettina asked.

“You do have a choice,” Katva said.

Many thoughts went through Bettina’s mind, not the least of which was that Katva thought so much of her needs that he allowed her to believe that she was choosing him of her own freewill. Deciding to ignore the fact that the way Katva went about helping her choose him was manipulative and controlling, she focused on the fact that he did seem to be concerned with her wants. And he’d been patient answering her questions, and he’d actually listened when she’d lost her temper and told him that she wanted to choose for herself the male she’d be with. He’d even managed to arrange things to give her the illusion of exactly what she wanted. “What if I don’t choose you?”

He looked nervous suddenly, even a little sad. “I will take you to whichever male you choose, then I will explain to him that if he does not appreciate you, I will be back to force him to.”

“You really mean that.”

“I am a male of my word.”

She widened her eyes doubtfully.

“Except for when I lied about not being Katva. And I didn’t really lie, I just didn’t say that I am him. Other than that, I am a male of my word.”