Ah, but Dorian. Ridiculous hypotheticals have a nasty habit of manifesting reality.

[Chilton's saccharine smile caught on quick; Dorian's reaction was beautiful, exactly what Chilton had wanted. While Chilton hardly thrilled himself with the concept of fear in the same way Crane did, he nevertheless appreciated what a fine mechanism it could provide -- a cog in the grander scheme of things.]

I'm not suggesting it is a likely occurrence, of course. But, hypothetically, if someone you were invested in decided they no longer cared about you, would you react violently?