He'd never felt comfortable complaining about any of what had happened to him. It hadn't been once or twice; it kept happening, and he couldn't help but think it was because he let it. First it'd been Liu—he'd been stupid, fallen for her lies. Then Miriam, using her shapeshifter abilities to trick him. He should've noticed. And Catalina...he didn't want to think about that.

There had been others too; women he'd been close to. They'd all broken his trust, taken things from him, walked right over his boundaries. It didn't matter, right? He hadn't stopped them. He'd given them what they wanted. Hell, he'd dated some of these women.

So why did it all haunt him so much? Why were his eyes misty?

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. "I don't know what came over me. I'll... I'll be fine. Just need a minute."