Wayne's voice grew softer, tinged with a lonely ache. "That's when it hit me." He said, his gaze dropping to the floor. "One glance, and I knew the truth. They weren't kidnapped. They weren't coerced. They came here to your mansion, my lord, because they wanted to. They chose this place chose you over me."
He let out another sigh, heavy and weary, as if the words were a weight he'd carried too long.
"I don't know how deep your relationship with them is, or how it even started. I don't know what you did to make them feel so...content, so at home here."
"But it was clear as day: being in your presence, in this mansion, makes them happier than I ever could."
"Wait, so you're saying...they're here because they like it? They're happy with him?" Aisha gestured at Cassius, her tone full of disbelief and frustration. "That's...that's insane! With his reputation? The stories? Why would they choose this place over their own home?"
