Whatever she came here today expecting, it wasn't this conversation. It's long overdue, she knows, something they have to get out if they ever plan on moving on, with or without each other. This never finished for them, and they never got to say the things they wanted to say.
It kills her that he's so heartfelt about it, so ridiculously nice when she walked out on him. He's talking about never having anyone else, and she gets that, understands it perfectly. She can still remember Etienne's face when he'd asked her if she'd ever be able to really love him, the way he'd packed up his things and left without a word when she couldn't answer. She's never been able to feel that for anyone again, because she never stopped feeling it for Coop.
"I know," she says, and she does. The lengths he's gone to to make her feel safe already tell her that. Sylvie can't help the tear that slips out, and it's a combination of the things he's saying and knowing that it's time to tell him everything. She brushes it away quickly and bites her lip. "My father used to gamble, a lot." He knows this part, she's told him before. "He would sell anything to get out of debt. He sold my piano, he sold all my mother's jewellery... When I was 22, before I knew you, people came asking about him, wanting their money." She shrugs, runs a hand through her hair. "I told you you're not the first witch I've met. They... Used magic on me to make me tell them where he was, to hurt me. I gave them everything I had and then I ran."
She doesn't like thinking about it, remembering it, and she shudders. It feels kind of stupid talking about it now, so far removed, and she's not doing it for any other reason than that he needs to know she loved him more than anything, and that that's not why she left. "Anyway, I used to hear every now and then that they were still watching me. When you told me what you were... I was terrified that they'd find me, that I'd walked into it all over again." She hadn't known how many witches were around back then, just that he was one and so were they, and maybe they knew each other, maybe they'd find her through him.
"I always regretted leaving." She can't look at him, doesn't want to see his face.
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It kills her that he's so heartfelt about it, so ridiculously nice when she walked out on him. He's talking about never having anyone else, and she gets that, understands it perfectly. She can still remember Etienne's face when he'd asked her if she'd ever be able to really love him, the way he'd packed up his things and left without a word when she couldn't answer. She's never been able to feel that for anyone again, because she never stopped feeling it for Coop.
"I know," she says, and she does. The lengths he's gone to to make her feel safe already tell her that. Sylvie can't help the tear that slips out, and it's a combination of the things he's saying and knowing that it's time to tell him everything. She brushes it away quickly and bites her lip. "My father used to gamble, a lot." He knows this part, she's told him before. "He would sell anything to get out of debt. He sold my piano, he sold all my mother's jewellery... When I was 22, before I knew you, people came asking about him, wanting their money." She shrugs, runs a hand through her hair. "I told you you're not the first witch I've met. They... Used magic on me to make me tell them where he was, to hurt me. I gave them everything I had and then I ran."
She doesn't like thinking about it, remembering it, and she shudders. It feels kind of stupid talking about it now, so far removed, and she's not doing it for any other reason than that he needs to know she loved him more than anything, and that that's not why she left. "Anyway, I used to hear every now and then that they were still watching me. When you told me what you were... I was terrified that they'd find me, that I'd walked into it all over again." She hadn't known how many witches were around back then, just that he was one and so were they, and maybe they knew each other, maybe they'd find her through him.
"I always regretted leaving." She can't look at him, doesn't want to see his face.