"No, don't apologize. Do not force yourself to smile at me either," Ferdinand put a finger on her lips to stop her from talking.
Arabella felt bad even more for her inability to tell him the truth right now. She was not courageous enough for that yet.
'I'm truly sorry, Ferdinand. Please wait a bit more.'
[Why is she looking at me with such eyes?]
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry. It's just my old habit kicking in. You don't have to keep apologizing because I can't stop myself from overthinking things. It's a fault on my part so no need to apologize or worry too much. I will improve someday, somehow… Just, please be patient with me."
Ferdinand tried to assure her that there was nothing wrong on her part. And that was even sadder since she knew there was.