"I didn't mean to imply that it was," she said quietly. His words- though they stung- were true enough, and she was determined not to cry again. "I don't know, Thomas. I'm trying- I've been trying. But perhaps I'm not trying hard enough. We've had good moments and decent conversations. I only- I just feel like I have to keep proving myself to her. That I'm worth your love and Bridget's. And I worry, I suppose, that she'll continue to hold my absence against me." Abby paused again, reaching for a piece of fruit to take a bite. "I'm not so very good at explaining my own thoughts, I suppose."