Honeybee,
I am sorry I've been so difficult with you. I do not want us to fight any longer. You are the most precious thing in my life and I hate the constant negative tension between us right now. I met with Mycroft to discuss it. I told him your reasons that you listed in your letter. He seems to think it would be a good idea, explaining it would be closure. It has come to my attention that I have yet to forgive my sister and I've been using that to justify keeping you from her. Of course, I will still be worried but it is only because I want to protect you and keep you safe from harm's way. This situation raises red flags in my mind, but my darling, if this is what you truly feel you need to do to get closure, I will not keep you from it. I just ask that you do not see her alone; we will be in the room together.
Molly, you are my light guiding me through the darkness. I've no idea what I would do without you; I would be lost. I do trust you to do the same with my own heart. I am yours completely, wholly, entirely. Lately, I've been having these nightmares about what would've happened had the Culverton case gone completely wrong, whether I would've died by his hands or by my own. I would have missed out on the best thing to ever happen to me: being with you. I can't believe how dangerously close I was to slipping away; how stupid I had been. I was breaking your heart in every way and I'm not sure if I ever apologised for all of the stress and heartache I put you through during that time, especially now that I know how you felt for me; how you still feel for me. I am so sorry. I'm not proud of what I did but I am better now. I can assure you there will never be another incident like that again.
Christmas is not just a bright side for you. I find myself actually looking forward to spending it with you and my family. What am I saying? You are part of my family, darling. The cookies you plan to bake sound delightful; I am sure I will love them. For years, I have tried to figure out how I could make up for the Christmas I had ruined for you when you were nothing but kind to me. I promise you, Molly Hooper, this year will be different; it will be a Christmas you won't ever forget. I have a lot of mistakes to atone for and I am trying my best to fix them. I have done a lot of thinking and I know where I'm at emotionally. In fact, I am one hundred percent sure that what we have is everything I never knew I wanted or needed. I know now.
I love you. Forever yours,
William xxx
p.s. thank you for the journal; it is a most efficient way of keeping track of my experiments.