When Alexander told her that he wasn't going to yell, she peeked at him through long lashes and the fall of her hair, her heart squeezing a little. And when he continued to speak, so earnestly and so lovingly, Nicola's face crumpled slowly into a heartbroken expression. She drew her breath in shallowly, only to have it escape almost instantly in a quiet, gasping sob.
These tears were nothing like the ones she'd been shedding for the past week. Those had been in grief, and often frustration. Now, she was crying because she was in so much pain. And she had, in turn, put Alexander through so much pain. And Hudson, who had actually gone to talk to Bennet about her because he was so worried about her. And Tobin, who hadn't seen her in ages, but still knew something was wrong. She had ignored all of their concern for her well-being, pushed it all aside, until she had literally collapsed in the grocery store. And her beloved husband was still being so wonderful. Offering to take care of her, to nurse her back to health and dote on her, and he still loved her so much. And that was making her weep, because damn if she didn't feel like she deserved to be shouted at, rather than loved.
"I love you," she whispered between her quiet sobs, tightening her fingers around his, as if he were a lifeline. "Al, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I just... it was so hard. It's still so hard. How can you still be so nice to me after how I treated you?"