***
"But she didn't love me enough to trust me," Damien continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. "That's what kills me, Julian. I loved her enough to forgive anything. And she didn't love me enough to believe I'd help her."
Julian was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Maybe it wasn't about not loving you enough. Maybe it was about not loving herself enough to believe she deserved your help."
"Don't." Damien's voice was sharp. "Don't make excuses for her. Don't try to make this about her issues or her trauma or her fear. She made a choice. Every single time, she chose to lie to me. To steal from me. To betray me. That was her choice."
"You're right. It was." Julian moved closer. "But you also made a choice. You chose to let her keep lying. You chose to wait for her to come to you instead of confronting her directly. You chose to play games instead of just telling her you knew and offering to help."
"I wanted her to trust me!"
