'Spend the weekend with me.'

'But I can't,' he replied. Again a feeling of rancour rose in his throat; she was refusing him the body he so much wanted and was demanding his time, his attention ... 'You know I can't.'

'Because of Paula?'

'Exactly.'

'How can a man allow himself to be a slave the rest of his life to a woman he no longer loves?'

'I never told you I didn't care for Paula anymore.'

'You pity her and you feel guilty. It's nauseating, all that sentimental crap. When you don't enjoy seeing people any more, you let them drop, that's all.'