For the first time, he realized that his actions over these past years had all stemmed from a single lie. A lie that had made him afraid to face his own feelings, and even more afraid to face Isabella's concern for him.
His subconscious had always warned him that all of this was stolen. It was all obtained by claiming credit for another's good deed.
But throughout these years, her love for him had not been false. Her feelings for him had not been false.
It was him. It was he who had pushed her further and further away with his own hands. He had even subjected her to every kind of humiliation and abuse, all for the sake of a woman who had schemed against him.
He drove his fingers into his hair, tugging viciously. Then he pounded his own head with his fists. What had he done!
On their w
