He started to speak, but she gently squeezed his hands to stop him.
"I've been selfish," she confessed, her voice thick with emotion. "I could only see it from my side. My hurt. My anger at having to share you. I saw the other women as obstacles, as threats to what we had."
Darren narrowed his eyes, surprised at all of this. Not even knowing what to say. He let her continue.
"I never once stopped to think… what it must be like for you."
Her eyes searched his, truly seeing him for the first time since this began.
"To have so much… affection… coming at you from all directions. To feel responsible for all of it. To not want to hurt any of us. I was only protecting my heart. You were trying to manage all of ours."
Darren was silent, truly stunned. This was a level of empathy and insight he had not calculated on.
He had expected her acceptance, perhaps her strategic mind seeing the value, but not this profound understanding.
