Then, after a long silence, she let out a soft sigh and said, "I know."

She sank her head once again, mustering all her strength just to keep her emotions at bay.

"Mark felt that he failed to do right by me, so he didn't want to drag me down when he became ill," she murmured.

"He chose to face his illness alone and prepared for the worst. But Peter, he has thought and accounted for everything but my feeling! Did it ever occur to him that if he really couldn't make it, I would regret fighting with him and separating from him? Did he ever think that I would blame myself for the rest of my life?"

Peter remained silent, unable to deny it.