The man stares down at the floor. The silence weighs heavily on Scorpius, and just as his legs threaten to buckle, he opens his mouth. "I've been faithful to you all the time, up until this moment," he says darkly, looking at him impassively as the emphasis actually knocks Scorpius to his knees. "Of course Avery tried to paint you in the worst possible light," he wrinkles his nose, "but I knew even without his undignified deception."