Perhaps it was harsh to make him talk about these things. To make him relive his own failings. It might have been kinder to gloss over the past. To just accept Cullen as he was now without critically examining the things he had done. But Neria was not always kind.
Besides, it would do Cullen no good to pretend that his past did not exist. He'd made choices and he had to live with those choices. It would do him no favors to act otherwise.
Still, she could acknowledge the man he was now, a man who had learned from those actions and grown and become better. It was, she was forced to admit, more than she had ever really expected of him. Perhaps that was unfair. But she had learned over the years that it was quite difficult to get people to examine their privilege in any critical way. That Cullen would meant that he was better than a great many people.
"But you did see them," she said after a moment. "I won't pretend you didn't make mistakes or that you never hurt anyone, but you did see what was happening and you did not dismiss it. You could no longer condone what was happening and so you left. That is more than many in your position would have done. More than most have done. It means something, Cullen. It means something to me." What he'd done years ago had hurt her deeply. She had cared about him and he had made it clear with his words and his actions that he didn't see her as a person. The Cullen in front of her now was a different man.
"You had things you wanted to say," she said after a moment. "And I would listen, if you still wish to."