Chapter Thirty-two

“I wish I had the chance to show her how much I loved her,” he said softly behind her. “She was always so forgiving, so loving, but I didn’t make life easy for her with the way I always opposed her suggestions.”

Erin remained silent. She knew this was a moment of healing for him, so she didn’t want to interrupt him by saying empty words that might distract him now that he is trying to pour out his pain.

“When Father said he wanted me to marry you, I resisted,” he continued speaking. “He was so disappointed by my refusal and called me a selfish son. I was hurt and vowed never to marry you. And then Mother called me aside and told me that she would support me no matter what I decided because my happiness mattered to her more than anything else. When she said that, I realized that my marriage to you would mean a lot to her too but she was not going to force me to go through with it because she was more concerned about my feelings than securing an alliance.

“You can imagine Father’s surpr