"I really am the biggest i***t in the world."
He hung his head, voice low and raw. "After Nina ran off with someone else, I came to hate women. I couldn't trust anyone. I couldn't even trust myself. I was terrified my genuine feelings would be wasted again. Controlling you completely and holding everything in my hands was the only way I could feel at ease. Then Nina came back, and I went even crazier. I knew perfectly well she only returned because she saw I had made it and succeeded. But I couldn't control myself. I wanted to show off in front of her, to prove I was doing well, that I'd won, and to erase the humiliation of being abandoned back then. I bought her bags, I squandered money on her, and I thrived on the regret in her eyes for leaving me. But... I was wrong."
His hands grippe
