It was not at all what he had expected her to say and he could see how difficult it must have been for her to hold in such a terrible secret. Terrible, only because of the fact that she had been harboring tremendous guilt over having broken up with Donny. She expected him to be angry with her; furious, perhaps. But how could he possibly be either, when he was keeping something from her as well?
When their eyes met, he did his best to let her know that he understood.
"Daphne-."
"I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane. I never meant to lie to you!"
"But you didn't lie! I just assumed. Please don't blame yourself."
"But it's my fault! When you assumed that Donny had broken up with me, you said all of those things about him, about how he was despicable and a liar. But those words describe me, not Donny!" Her voice was becoming more and more frantic with every word.
"Daphne, please-."
"I broke up with him! I'm the liar and the despicable one! What I did was unforgivable! How could I have done something like that?"
"Daphne I'm sure that whatever you think that you did, there was a very good reason for it."
"But how could I have done something so horrible?" She repeated, as though she hadn't heard his words.
He was completely baffled by her anger. Why was she feeling so guilty about breaking up with Donny? Women broke up with men all the time, even days before they planned to get married. Daphne's wedding date was still months away and as for Niles… had he not been the one to end things with Mel, he was certain that she would have ended it between them sooner or later."
"How could I do that, Dr. Crane?"
"Do what? Daphne, please, for the love of God, tell me what's wrong!"
"How could I let myself think that I was in love with Donny for so long… all of those months… only to realize that I've fallen in love with someone else? What kind of horrible person does that?"
Once again, she'd managed to render him speechless. He knew that he shouldn't have been surprised. She was a beautiful, intelligent and wonderful woman. It was only natural that she would fall for someone else. Yet, he couldn't help the jealousy that began to swirl inside of him. He wished… Oh how he wished….
"Dr. Crane, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
He sighed, feeling helpless.
She burst into tears and went to him, pressing her face against his shoulder. He held her close, at a complete loss as she sobbed relentlessly. He said nothing for what felt like hours. He was; of course, content to hold her for as long as she needed him. He would have held her forever. But he was relieved when her sobs became shudders. She continued to cry softly as he rubbed her back. And finally he spoke softly.
"Daphne, please don't blame yourself. I know that you loved Donny. I could see it when you accepted his proposal. It hurts when relationships end, even if you are the one who ended it. I know that better than most people, I think. After Maris and…" his voice trailed away. He wanted so much to tell her his secret, but he couldn't find the words. And so he went on as best as he could.
"Some people just fall out of love with one person and into love with someone else. It took me a long time to realize that and an even longer time to accept it. But I still haven't fully accepted it, I suppose, but I'm trying. Every day gets a little easier. Breaking up with Donny because you've fallen in love with someone else doesn't make you a bad person, Daphne. It makes you human. I know you and I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for you to end your relationship with him. But please believe me when I tell you that I'm happy for you. You've e found someone else and I hope…" He paused, working hard to steady his voice. He couldn't break down, not now. "It's wonderful. I wish you and the man you love all of the happiness in the world."
She lifted her head and smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Crane. That means a lot to me. But if you really want to make me happy, there's only one thing that I want."
He smiled and faced her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll do anything to make you happy, Daphne. Anything at all."
In the silence that followed they stared at one another. There were times when he simply couldn't believe how beautiful she was. It didn't seem possible. She was absolutely breathtaking, like an angel sent from heaven. But there was a look in her chocolate brown eyes that he couldn't quite read; the familiar look of sadness mixed with a tinge of happiness. The sign of happiness at least, gave him hope, but he was still worried.
"Daphne, are you all right?"
She was understandably hesitant. "I-I…"
"Daphne please let me help you. I want so much to make you happy and I meant what I said. I'll do anything-."
His breath caught in his throat. She was reaching for him, her hands cradled his face. After a few seconds her soft hands moved to his hair, her fingertips making their way through the darkening strands. His hair was considerably thinner than when they had first met all of those years ago and it was a trait of getting older than he had always felt self-conscious about. But now…
There was something about the way she was looking at him… But he only had a moment to ponder the situation when she brought her lips to meet his.