A punch to the gut if there ever was one. Regretting asking, not for knowing but for her having to answer, Nathan was dead still for a moment. This subject would never, ever be easy, and part of that had to do with the fact he had no definitive answer for what was best to do. Promises would only be empty without belief, reassurances weren't met with trust because he'd lost that and excuses – none of them were worth anything, because inevitably they only sounded as hollow and pathetic as his actions had been.
"I'm so damned sorry." Even if the words weren't elaborate, even if he didn't deserve the necessary faith for them to be believed, he had to say it because he meant it. "It was the biggest mistake of my life." And he could never undo it.
Without pausing to consider it, he turned in her arms and pulled her against him, one hand cradling the back of her head. If she socked him in the gut or otherwise indicated this was a bad move, so be it. It would be understandable and it and more was everything he deserved. But it didn't change that the reaction without restraint was this one.