He lets out a sigh, the kind of long-suffering one Carlisle has often. "Don't be so dramatic, Glacius. I'm never happy, but I'll be far closer to it once people stop getting the wrong impression about us."

He tosses his box on the couch, collecting a few of his knickknacks and setting them inside. "I must have been delusional when I said such things. You're not a monster, no, but you certainly look enough like one that people will talk. And you know what I've had plenty of? People talking."