Nicolae looked back at Aleksis. He finally disclosed what was in his heart to the girl in all honesty.
"Aleksis, you know ... it's not easy to move on with life when the person you love leaves you, right? We've talked about this before."
Aleksis nodded slowly. "That's right. I remember your words last year before we..."
Aleksis paused, then changed the sentence. She did not want to mention the words 'before we get married'.
She chose another sentence to convey her point. "I remember your words last year when we were at Father's conservation in Kenya. At that time, you told me that I must not be too hard on myself. Moving on with you did not mean I had to force myself to forget my past with Alaric."