"That's also why I pushed him toward Emily. She could give him things I couldn't. She could stay beside him without hurting him. She could hold his hand. She could be there."
Catherine breathed out slowly.
"I just wanted him to live a good life… even if that life wasn't with me."
The room fell quiet after that.
Alice lowered her gaze, not because she was angry, but because she finally understood.
Catherine hadn't stepped aside because she didn't love Isaac.
She stepped aside because she loved him too much.
Alice took a slow breath.
And for the first time, she didn't feel jealousy alone.
She felt understanding.
And there was a strange sense of respect mixed into it.
The mix of emotions brought a hollow feeling to her chest.
Did that mean she didn't love Isaac?
Even if she knew he would be happy with others, she still wanted him to be happy with only her.
The two thoughts crashed together inside her, and she didn't know how to sort them out.
