As a lover or a slave?
"I didn't lie to you," Nick adds in the next instant. "I was not allowed to reveal everything."
They were friends ten years ago. A lot happened. Nobody can remain the same when time touches them. Nell doesn't expect any honesty or loyalty from Nick. But she needs to remind him. "You are not under any bindings."
"What do you mean?" He frowns deeply, touching his chest. There is unfamiliar freedom -- a hole in his soul. He doesn't know what to do with it. "I am not freed."
"You are freed," She stresses her words. "You are free."
"What about Millie?" Nick questions her anxiously. "I relied on you. I thought that you would do something to help her. Instead, you broke the contract between me and her. I can't tell if she is alive. My master is gone!"
Nell becomes quiet. Master. He is calling her a master. Since when did Millie become a master? Right. That night. "Nick, would you have called her a master before that night?"