Astrid had many questions.
'What was my mother to you?'
'Was that really her?'
'Why did you kiss her?'
'Ever since I met you, you've looked like you were longing for someone who isn't here anymore.'
'Was it… my mother?'
Everything tangled at once. Her chest felt as if it had been torn open, her stomach turning over as the scene replayed in her head. It was wrong on so many levels that she couldn't even begin to comprehend what had just happened.
"That's right."
"…."
"I killed her."
The words hit harder than anything Astrid could have forced out of him.
All the questions faded at once, swept aside by the single confession that blew through everything else in her mind.
"W-Why…"
Not, 'that can't be true, 'but 'why.' As if there had never been room for doubt in Astrid's heart from the beginning.
"M-Mother loved you… like you were her own son…"
But it was clear to Astrid now that Vanitas had never seen it the same way.
