"I couldn't possibly," Ezra responded, unthinking. He had said it because he was sure it was true — it was quite impossible to believe that he meant as much to Rosalie as she did to him, given the circumstances — but after the words hit the air he worried that he risked sounding condescending. It wasn't that he doubted her sincerity, of course, or that he was worried she didn't love him — he was quite sure she did. It was just that he hadn't been hyperbolic when he'd said a second ago that she didn't know how much she meant to him, because there was no way she could possibly have known. And he couldn't tell her, not straight out, but now he worried that if he didn't offer her some explanation she was going to find his response to her I love you rather odd.
He moved to take her hands in his, hesitant for a moment as he considered. What explanation could he offer her? Even if he could come right out and say the truth he didn't know that he would have; at best it would have worried her, at worst it would make him sound crazy. But maybe he could talk his way around-and-out of the slight blunder here, without ever saying it directly. Maybe (he thought wryly) if he sounded sufficiently metaphorical about it all, he'd even get some points for being romantic.
"Something I ought to tell you," he began, after deciding to take the plunge. "My life before you was... different. Difficult. You changed everything for me, Rosalie, and you couldn't possibly know because I've never been able to tell you." He paused, trying to gauge her reaction.
He moved to take her hands in his, hesitant for a moment as he considered. What explanation could he offer her? Even if he could come right out and say the truth he didn't know that he would have; at best it would have worried her, at worst it would make him sound crazy. But maybe he could talk his way around-and-out of the slight blunder here, without ever saying it directly. Maybe (he thought wryly) if he sounded sufficiently metaphorical about it all, he'd even get some points for being romantic.
"Something I ought to tell you," he began, after deciding to take the plunge. "My life before you was... different. Difficult. You changed everything for me, Rosalie, and you couldn't possibly know because I've never been able to tell you." He paused, trying to gauge her reaction.
![[Image: 5WWaDR1.png]](https://i.imgur.com/5WWaDR1.png)