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"I've decided," Adolin said, "to step back."
Shallan didn't know what to say. She should protest, explain how she didn't mean to... But she was left speechless. Empty, still drained after the battle.
"Why?" she asked quietly, in an attempt to gain time to think rather than in order to actually get the answer. That being said... Which of the hundred of reasons was he going to give? She was hardly the perfect bride she had crafted for him. He should have noticed by now.
"I see how you look at him. You both, how you look at each other. That's fine, I get it, he... flies and everything. Anyway, I want you to know, that I won't stand in your way."
Storms. So it was Veil who had ruined everything. She had created her to escape Shallan's... limitations, but the lie had caught up with her, and not in a way she expected. And this one lie brought to light, one hidden facet rediscovered, would be followed by another, and another... She couldn't deal with this. Not now. Maybe not ever.
This is a way out, said a tiny voice in her head. You've been avoiding the decision for months now. Let him make it for you. He has already accepted it. Nobody has to get hurt.
"Shallan?" Adolin's voice was genuinely concerned. Even when he was breaking up with her, he still cared. She didn't deserve this man.
"You are right. And wrong." Shallan exhaled deeply and turned her face towards his. Veil would be better at handling this, just like she was better at taking care of many other problems. "We should take a step back. But it's not up to you to give me off to another man."
Harsh, too harsh. She brought Shallan back. Adolin deserved to hear this from the woman he knew. She continued, more gently. "I.. I am a mess in ways that you don't even suspect, Adolin. I have been relying on your support for too long now. I can't keep burdening you with the problems that I need to resolve on my own."
"That's not what I meant, Shallan. I'm here for you. I'm just concerned..."
"No," she said firmly, suddenly more determined. "There are things you don't know about me, Adolin. Storms, there are things that I don't know about myself. If I'm not ready to be completely sincere, I can't drag you into this. It wouldn't be fair. I won't say that you can trust me, but you need to trust me on this."
He regarded her carefully as if he saw her for the first time. Fear of what he might have seen on her face made her nauseated, but she also felt... liberated. She might not have been ready to share her past, but this was a step forward. If she finally decided to trust him with her life, heart and hand, she would trust him with her secrets as well. If she didn't... So be it. She didn't have to meet anyone's expectations now, not anymore.
"So," he started uneasily, "...friends?"
Shallan smiled, relieved. "Adolin, this is probably the worst thing you can say when breaking up with a woman, don't you know?" The joke made her finally feel more like herself. Whatever that actually meant. But she had plenty of time to find out.
He smiled too. "Considering your Blade and superpowers, I can think of a dozen worse endings to this conversation."
They both laughed together at his remark, which felt a little odd, but also strangely, wonderfully sincere.
"Very well, then," she agreed with a light heart. "Friends, for now. And later... we'll see."