"But I didn't mean things that way." It was just talk. Sometimes playful, sometimes catty, but Tris had taken very little of it seriously. He hadn't seen why it could be so upsetting.
The idea that he had brought all of this on himself was a bitter pill to swallow. Because if he'd made himself a liability, then all of this was his fault too, wasn't it? Cian was letting him go, and it was his own fault.
With the way that realisation made him feel, perhaps it would've been kinder to swing an axe at his chest. Whatever anger had bubbled up was quickly drowned out by a fresh wave of hurt. "But it's true. You care about him and I know he likes you. I know he was the one you kissed before you came to talk to me. And I know that if I let you go, and you go to him, you'll never come back. Because why would you? You can't even touch me without drinking the right kind of blood."
The younger Kindred put his face in his hands and began sobbing again. Even though his head was beginning to ache he couldn't bring himself to stop crying. "I know I don't deserve you but I can't stand the thought of you with someone else. I'm sorry, Cian. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."