[Ion has no idea what's going through Anise's mind right now, and as such, has no idea how to interpret that small, unsure-sounding voice. Did she... not believe him? Had he simply gone too far? What if she couldn't forgive him?]

[...]

None of the things I said were true. I would never talk to you like that, Anise... the only reason I did was because of this mask. [He moves his hand just enough so that she can see that he's holding it, provided she's looking at him.] The moment I took it off, I realized just how horrible I'd been... all the terrible things I'd said...