My heart splits, the knowledge of her devastating past sitting in my chest like a lump of lead. A cruel, burdening weight I loathe to pile atop whatever grief she’s already carrying before she slips through my fingers again. But a necessary cruelty.
Its really not necessary though. Hes bending over backwards for her and the story uses his empathy to soften her abuse. Shes denying her feelings, his feelings, and vehement that this is the only way. This is just sustained emotional cruelty with no consequence
