“I love you,” he said. “I have always loved you. And that is yours without expectation or obligation. Even if you don’t want it. Even if you throw me away.” His fingers touched her cheek, a tentative, gentle brush, his thumb rubbing away the tracks of salt her tears had left behind. “I love you,” he said again. “I would give everything I own just to see you happy. And I won’t ever expect you to love me in return. Just let me love you. Because I—I could spent the next fifty years of my life paying for my transgressions in whichever way you deem appropriate, and still I would be happier than I
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