There was another pause before Darius continued, "I didn't want my mother and sister to live with grudge and resentment in their hearts like mine. I promised myself on that day that I'll protect them no matter what happened, and the emotional damage such knowledge would inflict on them would be too much to bear."
He sighed, "It wasn't easy to see Nasser as if nothing happened, acting like I don't know everything that truly happened. I was able to handle it for some time, but I tend to snap every so often like how I did during dinner. But Freya and Mother… Both of them are too fragile for this, and I don't want them to suffer like how I am right now…"
Xenia closed her eyes, her own tears starting to well up as she listened. This was too much to bear. It was too painful for her just to hear how much pain Darius had to handle all on his own.
