Stefan nodded, slightly reassured by the fact that he had resisted, but not reassured enough. "I still hurt you," he told her gently, moving as if he was going to touch her arm, and then letting his hand drop again. She didn't need that.
The way she talked about Damon made his stomach twist- he felt sick, with a whole range of emotions that he wasn't sure he'd still been capable of until now. Jealously, he was no stranger to. Hurt- loss, more than anything, he felt loss. He could see it now, how it had happened- and in a strange way, he supposed he ought to be thanking him.
"He looked out for you when I couldn't," he stated, putting in plainly. It was what he had always wanted to see in him- that he was capable of caring, and putting someone else's feelings before his own. And he had done it- just under the most horrible circumstances.
Stefan could feel the tears stinging at his eyes, and turned his head slightly. He didn't want to make her feel guilty for leaving him, when clearly she hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. It just hurt, because in his world, everything had been fine- and it had all got turned upside down in a single day. "I'm glad you had someone. Have someone," he said, and he did mean it, although the pain was clear in everything he did.