"I knew there was something wrong with his heart."
Shade nodded.
"You hinted at many things, and there was also your pale complexion and the almost emotionless way you lived."
Haila Osenfott had said that he loved her, and she loved him. They had both been willing to offer their hearts for one another. When Shade had come to visit for the second time and the two had painted in the back garden, the mistress of the manor had taken Shade's hand and placed it against her chest, promising her soul as payment for the commission.
Those had all been hints.
"You died of a broken heart, and your husband said that his own heart died at that moment as well. If you were revived directly, you would likely die of heartbreak again."
He deliberately paused to observe her expression behind the veil, but unfortunately, all he saw were calm eyes.
"Everyone needs a heart to live. Since he did not erase your memories, then to keep you from feeling that pain, worry, and sorrow, Stone Osenfott took away your broken heart and gave you a Stone Heart, one incapable of feeling pain."
Shade looked at her, and Haila nodded softly.
"I am glad you have already guessed it."
There had simply been too many clues.
"And to punish himself, he also abandoned his own dead heart and placed my heart in his chest, so he could constantly feel my pain and heartbreak."
Haila spoke. At last, as she looked at the figure by the window, a trace of vulnerability appeared on her face.
"I cannot feel pain, and therefore I cannot feel love either. He loves me so deeply, and I still love him as well. But I only remember that I love him; I do not know how