“They left,” she says, “because they had to, but the longer they were away, the more they realized that it was the right choice. And initially, Ten stayed because of a sense of responsibility for Mika; but eventually, it was Mika who stayed because of a sense of responsibility for Ten. And finally they looked at that mutual sense of responsibility for the wellbeing of the other and realized that it was love, and that is the end of the story.”
Connor looked at her for a while.
“So is this you telling me to run away to the forest with you?”
He made it sound light, like a joke, but there was an underlying sadness that told her that he already knew where she was going. It nearly broke her to see him like this, but not quite, and that was when she knew that it was over.
“No,” she said quietly. “This is me telling you that I feel responsible for your wellbeing, but I don’t love you, and therefore I have to leave before we end up living in the forest when we could have had the world.”