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She never stays long.“We can’t afford to be found out,” she tells him, lacing up her second boot. He always tries to get her to remain just a few minutes longer, but she smiles and kisses him with a secretive smile before picking up the tray she brought his breakfast in on and slipping out. He’s not a fool – he figures out quickly enough that she won’t be entangled any further than she already is. Staying would mean talking, and she won’t risk that, won’t risk any more of her heart in his hands. It hurts that she doesn’t trust him.“I love you,” he says one day, and she doesn’t answer, just finishes putting her clothes on and leaves. He wants so much more than she’s willing to give that it’s a physical pain in his chest. She leaves that afternoon on an errand for her father, and when she returns he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He can take what she will give gratefully – he owes her that, and much more.