“I understand your point. But everything has a way to do it. He could’ve just rejected my proposal! He didn’t have to do that with Tess! He’d no right to hurt me like that! Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw him with my own sister?” A tear rolled down my cheek.

“It was harsh, but it was necessary.”

I gaped at his words. Was he even hearing himself?

“Tell me, if he’d rejected you after your confession, would you give up?” He raised a brow. “Would you stop going after him?”

I opened my mouth and then shut it.

Never. I’d never give up.

“Your silence is your answer, Em. You’d never give up on him if he’d chosen the easy way. He could’ve used any girl other than taking Tess’s help to do that. Yes, you would be hurt, but after some time, you would again start fantasizing about him. But when you saw him with your own sister, it shook you. It made a big difference, Em. And you, being always insecure of Tess, made it even harder for you to take it.”

Averting my eyes, I turned away from him.

“If it wasn’t Tess, you’d never give up on him, Em,” he spoke in a soft voice.

“I didn’t want to give up,” I whispered, my throat tightening.

I felt his hand on my shoulder. “Nor did he.”

My gaze met his soft blue ones.

He nodded. “He adored you too much to let you go. But he had to. He didn’t want you to ruin your precious future on him when all he could think about was drugs and alcohol most of the time.” A sad chuckle slipped from his lips. “Though he kept himself totally sober, the days he used to go to see you and play chess with you. He tried his best to be better, Em. But he was in too deep.”

My heart tugged at his words. I still remembered those one or two visits a month when he’d spend the whole day at our place and stay with me. It was after his father’s death. He used to be always tired. And I was too always too excited and over the moon I never gave any attention to that. I used to think his tiredness, his losing weight, was because he was sad about his father’s demise.

Even in that situation, when he couldn’t even go a day without his addiction, he didn’t forget the promises he used to make me, to meet me once or twice a month. He never missed the dates.

Looking down, I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes.

“Now that you know and understand his reasons, you will forgive him?” Tobias queried, his voice expectant.

I didn’t answer.