"Did something happen between you and Rose?"
Caius raised his head from his desk to glare at his cousin. He was irritated that Rylen could read him like a book, and he didn't want to discuss her rejection with anyone, but at this point, he was going to go mad with all the thinking.
"I asked Rose to marry me," he admitted.
Rylen did his best not to show his horror, but if he knew anything about his cousin, it was most likely as bad as he imagined. "What happened after?" he softly asked.
He could take a guess. If it were good, Caius wouldn't be brooding. He could tell the King needed his help. If he knew anything about Caius, he knew he was the reason it didn't go well.
"She was horrified."
Rightfully so.
But Rylen knew better than to say that, so he simply asked, "Did she say no?"
Caius paused and thought about it. "Not exactly." But it certainly didn't feel like she was going to say yes, and he had felt horrible about this. It wasn't a nice feeling; his chest still hurt.
