Rhys struggled to find the right words, his voice strained with emotion. "I'm sorry, Beatrix. I never meant for any of this to happen. I thought I could protect you, keep you safe from the darkness that consumed me. But I only ended up dragging you deeper into it."
He reached out a trembling hand, wanting to comfort her, but she flinched away, her pain too raw to bear his touch. He let his hand fall, his own tears mingling with hers on the cold floor.
"I understand if you can't forgive me," Rhys said, his voice barely a whisper. "I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve your love. But please know that everything I did, I did out of a twisted sense of justice. I thought I was avenging my own suffering, but in the process, I caused you unimaginable pain."
