Maxi instinctively accepted the bowl and was about to take it to him when she came to a halt. Why bother with someone who had chosen a prickly nettle of a man as his riding partner over her?
"Th-This is… not what I wanted either," she managed to strangle out. "If I had known it would be this dangerous… I wouldn't have agreed to join the expedition. I did not mean to drag you into such an arduous journey. I-I merely… wanted to leave the island as soon as possible…"
Maxi faltered when she saw the hurt in his eyes. Had he only expressed anger, she would have fought back. Against his pain, however, she was utterly powerless.