Heart in Pain
David left his home with a sigh of relief. He had a feeling that if he had stayed there another moment, he would have started to suffocate. Funny, he thought bitterly, that the prospect of going to the palace and meeting Meiden was more pleasant for him than staying in his own home and working with his father. But while at the palace he would be able to hole up in the park, in solitude, and do some work, at home he would be in his father's company almost all the time. And David didn't have the slightest desire to pretend to be cheerful so as not to worry his father.
It wasn't even that he was sad. He was just... numb. His body moved with difficulty, and so did his mind. He just couldn't believe that Berenice had chosen a gas station employee as her fiancé instead of some medical or law student. A gas station worker, someone no better than him, a gardener.