Thea couldn’t contain the gasp that spilled out of her lips.
Before she could say anything else, he continued.“I realize now that it was wrong.That the two of you deserved a chance.I did it because I thought I was helping my brother, and I want to apologize and beg for your forgiveness.”
He glanced down at the woman next to him once more.“I know I don’t deserve it, but I can only imagine the pain that I put you both through, and I’m sorry.So sorry.”
Thea couldn’t find the words to say.
Nat had written to her?
“You did what?”Nathaniel said, his voice quiet and deadly.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me,” Roan said.“I know I wouldn’t if I were in your place.But I wanted you to know, and I wanted you to have them.”
He reached over, and the young woman handed him a bag she held.Thea’s eyes widened as he opened it and showed them the letters inside.She recognized some of them—and there were more she had never seen.
“How could you?”Nathaniel asked, looking up at his brother, his voice cracking.“How could you do that, when you knew how much she meant to me?”
“I thought I was helping,” Roan said simply.“You were so miserable when you came back, and I thought it would be better if you forgot about her and your life in Riyel, since I knew you wouldn’t leave Mother.”
“So you tried to erase the love of my life?”Nathaniel said, his voice turning deadly.
“I didn’t know,” Roan said, looking over at the young woman with pain on his face.“I didn’t know what love felt like, and I’m so sorry.More sorry than you could ever imagine.I wanted to bring the letters and tell you that I was sorry, and hope that someday you will be able to forgive me—even though I don’t deserve it.”
Thea glanced at the young woman, who was staring up at Roan with love and something else she couldn’t quite identify.
“Who’s this?”she asked gently, turning the attention away from Nathaniel, who seemed to need a moment to learn how to breathe again.He was a very pretty shade of pink at the moment, maybe the most she’d ever seen, and perhaps a moment to collect himself would be beneficial.
“This is Abigail,” Roan said, reaching over to take her hand.“She’s the reason I realized how wrong I’d been.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Abigail,” Thea said, offering her a small smile.“I hope to get to know you a little better, especially if you are the reason Roan has had a change of heart.”
Abigail returned the smile cautiously.“I look forward to that as well.”
She seemed young for Roan, but Thea was not in a position to judge.She had been hopelessly in love with Nathaniel, even though he was younger than she was.
“I hope you can forgive him,” Abigail said quietly to Nathaniel, who was still breathing hard.
“You don’t know what he’s done,” Nathaniel warned her.
“I think he’s told me most of it,” she said.“Though I would love to hear your side, too.Perhaps there are more things I should encourage him to apologize for,” she added with a twinkle in her eye.
Nathaniel scoffed.“I can only imagine what it took to get him to apologize once.I don’t imagine you’ll get him to do it again.”
“I would apologize as many times as it takes,” Roan said.“I know I’ve been difficult for many years now.”
Nathaniel scoffed.
“But I would love to change that.You are the only family I have left, and I know that Mother, at least, would want to see us be friends.”
Nathaniel let out a breath in something that almost resembled a chuckle.
“Because Father wouldn’t care at all,” he said.
“Not at all,” Roan agreed, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips.
Thea glanced at Nat.Was he going to accept the apology?
“It doesn’t excuse everything you’ve done,” he said, his voice hardening.“Don’t forget the way you tried to drive Thea out of town.”
