"I'm an empath," Valdis replied, "Not a mind reader. I can only know what you are feeling, interpreting those feelings correctly is more difficult."

She sighed, disappointed in his apology, but perhaps it was the best he could do. Valdis could either reward his try, or reject it, the problem was that she didn't know which choice was the right one.

"Devin. It's not that you pretended you weren't feeling. It's not even that you were angry. It's that you looked me in the eyes, knowing exactly how much it would hurt, and lied."