Peeta sat silent for a few moments, remembering it all. He loved Katniss, he knew it to the depths of his soul. She was everything to him, and he would have died a thousand times over to protect her. But she was confused - always confused. She cared for Gale too. He couldn't deny her that - they had always been close, while he had been too chicken to even speak to her before the Games.
"I suppose that the people just needed someone to inspire them, and you did that," he said with a small shrug. "But... we're not there now. In a way, we're free."