William was caught unawares by Bri's question. He took a few seconds to think through her questions, then finally he
quietly set his fork down, and lifted his eyes to Bri who was already looking at him, waiting and unsure how he felt about their situation.
Finally, he spoke.
"If there was someone else in the picture, I wouldn't have agreed to this marriage," he said calmly. "It would have been unfair to you, to me, and to that other person." William continued. "And Grandma Eleanor would have understood that, she is not a unreasonable person. Bri, I need you to know that you didn't replace anyone, not Kate or anyone else."
His voice softened.
"If I made you feel that way at the beginning of our marriage, I'm sorry. That was not my intention at all. I only wanted to make you feel less burdened by our marriage, and that is why I stayed away, starting on the night after our wedding. But I think my approach might have caused you to misunderstand something.."
