[Huaisang makes a soft, dismayed sound at the question, which is perfectly valid but he's not sure how to answer it. And yet he does need to talk. He's been feeling like he needs to discuss this with someone, as much as he's also been avoiding it. He settles where Hubert indicates and tucks his knees up, shifting close to lean against Hubert's side.] I ... it feels like there are so many parts of 'all this' that it's hard to know how to answer. But specific to just Hannibal ... the earlier Hannibal. I was ... very fond of him. And it's been three years, but I ... missed him. There were aspects to my relationship with him that I haven't had with anyone since.

But even with that, the relationship was ... perhaps not very deep. I couldn't say how important I was to him. We were both dominants, and that alone meant that there was distance between us.

So this new Hannibal arrives, and he's a submissive. And I resonate with him the way I did with the former Hannibal. Even more strongly, I think. The two versions are different. But similar enough in the ways that are important to me.

I decided that I did not want to bear the jealousy of seeing him contracted to someone else, and ... I knew I could have what I wanted. [It feels incredibly selfish to phrase it like that, but it also feels true. He thinks that maybe he's punishing himself, in a way, by phrasing it so harshly.] He likes art and luxury, values it as highly as I do. I wanted to be able to offer that to him, and I knew ... well. There aren't many in this city who can compete with me on that front.