It took Duke a moment, so locked as he was in the repetition of this scene. A part of him thought Octavia was going still, the way she did at times. Shutting down.

“You knew it was wrong!” he said, breaking his own script. “That’s why you wouldn’t tell me! You knew. . . .” He trailed off, hands fisting in his hair. “You — I knew —“

He swayed, mind reeling, and saw Lucifer.

“I knew,” he said, small and fragile. “I knew this would break us. But I couldn’t — I can’t —“