They were quiet as they completed the short walk to their apartment, and he fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door, guiding them inside. "Would you like me to make some tea?" he asked tenderly as he stepped out of his shoes, watching as Roxanna did the same.

"No, I think I just want to crawl into bed with you, and try to sleep."

He hated how defeated she sounded, and he nodded a little as he held out his hand. She clasped it softly and together, they made their way into the bedroom. Henrik made to let go of her hand, and she squeezed tightly, stopping him. "Roxanna?"

"Stay by me for just a few moments longer." He nodded and paused, looking at her expectantly. She gave him a small smile before dropping his hand and taking hold of the hem of his jumper, pulling it up over his head before dropping it to the floor. "I don't have the energy to pick up clothes tonight. They stay where they fall."

"Yes," he replied quietly as he stood there, allowing her to unbutton his shirt and push it off his shoulders before tugging his pyjama pants down his legs. Henrik stepped out of them as he watched Roxanna reach behind her back, running the zipper of her dress down her back before shrugging the sleeves off her shoulders and allowing it to pool on the floor as she unhooked her bra and slipped it off her chest, and then slipping her panties down her legs to join the pile of clothing.

"Come to bed with me?" she asked, her voice tender and tremulous. He gave her a small nod before drawing in a sharp breath as Roxanna pushed him back onto the mattress. Henrik scooted over to his normal side of the bed, allowing Roxanna to stretch out on the mattress before she turned away from him and scooted backwards. Soon enough, they were spooned so close together that he would have been hard pressed to know where he ended and she began.

It was second nature to close his arm around her waist, his other arm curving around her head in an effort to shelter her in his embrace. "I need to apologise to you first and foremost," he hesitantly began, hating how he sounded. "I know that I hurt you, so much, and whilst I don't know why my words had that effect on you, I want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to see you cry like that, my darling girl."

Roxanna nodded as she covered his hand with her own, her thumb rubbing back and forth. "You were so cruel to Maja, to tell her that you would take her son away. That's not like you, Henrik, not really. You have a tender heart, which is why I was so disturbed by your words, your tone of voice. I didn't realise that words could physically hurt me so deeply until that moment."

He nodded against her head as he thought of what to say next. "Maja treated you horribly, she drove you away from one of the few opportunities to be with Fredrik, and that wasn't right. I have an inkling that my father may have tried to use her to split us up so that I would stay in Sweden, take over the family business, but there's no way on God's green earth that I would ever do that. Not after everything they've done there."

He paused a moment, and Roxanna's thumb stilled before she squeezed his hand in sympathy. "I didn't know that."

"I didn't tell you that. I wanted to lead with the thing that I knew would bring me the most perverse pleasure, because I knew, on some level, that I wanted to lash out at John and you. I was so jealous of the sight of you two, thick as thieves, without me, that I think I just went for the easiest way to let you know that I could be cruel if pushed and that I had taken care of the issue between Maja and myself." He took a deep breath. "I didn't particularly like being cruel or callous, but I don't think I gave much thought about how those words would affect you, as well. My father would be somewhat proud of me for how I just cut you to the core."

Roxanna turned around in his embrace, and he could see that she was crying once more as she reached up and stroked his cheek. "I don't think that you'll truly become your father, darling. Not if you can have this much empathy and concern after hurting me." She leaned in and kissed him softly.

"I hope that you're right, darling, but I don't want to make promises, because we can't be certain what our futures will hold. But I think that, with you by my side, we can stave off his influence." He paused again, breathing deeply a few times as he continued to stare into her eyes. "I was so angry with Maja, you know. She hurt you, and I love you, so it felt like your wounds were my wounds. And a part of me doesn't want my son raised by her, because I don't know what she'll tell him in our absence. I meant it when I told her that I was going to a lawyer, Roxanna. I need to be able to see my son regularly, to make certain that he has your good influence in his life, because you are sunshine personified, and I don't think that anyone raised in your presence could turn out bad."

"I would have reacted so much differently if you had led with that, Henrik."

"I know that now. I overreacted. And I guess that I have deeper issues with John than I realized. I just feel like he shows up to cause trouble between us, which I find so sad, because we were such good friends. I suppose that I should ask for your forgiveness for my jealousy as well, since that must have hurt you as well."

"A little. But a part of me was flattered by that jealousy. Before everything went to hell. I knew that you were trying to reach out to me, that you had realized your mistake before too much time had passed, but…there were other matters that I had to think of." As he watched, she withdrew into herself once more, and he wondered what had brought about that change in her.

He started to stroke her hair gently, not wanting to push her faster than she was willing to go, but wanting to let her know that he was open to listening to her, to finding out what lay at the heart of her hurt. Roxanna glanced away from him, focusing on his lips as she took a few shallow breaths. "What are those other matters?" he gently asked before starting to rub her back slowly. "Please, help me to understand how I hurt you so that I can avoid making this mistake once more. Because I hate the thought of hurting you, darling."

She nodded a little as she lifted her eyes up to his once more. Beneath the hurt there was a small flicker of joy, and he felt his mouth turn up into a smile at that sight, hoping that that meant everything would be all right between them by the end of the night.