It seemed a constant issue with most people Svetlana found. The what if game. The doubting choices that had been made because of the outcome. It was why the whole phrase 20/20 hindsight existed. It was easy to see the choice that might have been better after the fact. The trick was making sure it didn't distract you from the bigger picture. There were so many what ifs within Svetlana's life yet she didn't pay attention to them. When Anatoly pulled away, she instead focused on her daughters instead of the what ifs and signs she should have seen and what she could have done. Those came to her later but they never detracted from the bigger picture. It was just making sure that Helena didn't fall into that particular trap.
Truthfully, the fact that Helena was even here was a good sign. It meant she recognized within herself the risk of putting up those walls and self destructing as she had done before. It meant she was actively trying to keep that from happening and letting herself process things. Which meant a lot more to Svetlana than she would ever actually say given how much she pushed the older woman to do just that. To let herself experience and feel things. Yes, Svetlana needed to do the same thing but that was why she knew Helena needed it as well, because she saw the signs, she saw the clues.
"I find it is harder to let go of the negative emotions as we feel them stronger, remember them longer." Wasn't that always the case? A person could have good things happen in a day, but on wrong thing and that was what they fixated on. So of course it made sense that Helena had a harder time accepting the anger and hate and moving past it, especially without an outlet. It was human nature regardless of the person. For if there was one thing Svetlana was good at, it was observing people and seeing that trend within a majority of people.
"You do deserve a chance to live the life you want to live and not one hampered by the past, by things that are not in your control. You have control of how you handle things, though. If you want to make peace with it, you will find a way to do so."
If there was one thing the Russian woman was certain of, it was of Helena's ability to do whatever she put her mind to, no matter the challenges. Hell, the more challenges the more she'd work on it to overcome them for her end goal. Sipping her drink, she stared out at the city from the window in thought.