Arwen halted when she heard him say that. She opened her eyes and pulled away a little just to look at his face.
Aiden also shifted and stared into her eyes, nodding and confirming his words. "I know that you were drugged." But he didn't let her assume things on her own. Just when he saw her pulling away, he held her and tugged her back, keeping her grounded to herself.
"Let go of me. I —"
"Don't rush, Moon. Hear me out first," Aiden said, his voice strained with an emotion that was hard to express. "Yes, I know that you were drugged, but this isn't something I knew from the beginning."
She stopped struggling in his grasp. And he nodded to her, explaining.
"I knew it only later, when Jason put you through a few tests. And even without knowing it, I never blamed you. I never hated you. If I hated someone, I hated myself for leaving you alone through the phase in which you needed me the most."
