For all that she worries about her approach, Derek knows that his is by far the worst, and it doesn't help as he stands there, watching, listening, without so much as a sound escaping him until he knows that she's finished speaking and he's had a moment to absorb what it is that she's telling him.
"You don't need to worry about Markus anymore," he assures her, and he means it, even though he knows he can't promise, he's going to do everything within his power to ensure that he stays away whether he finds her or not; she's not a prize to be fought over and won, but she's clearly made her choice, so he intends to respect that. "If he comes, I'll see to it that he gets the message."
There's another long moment before he speaks again, but he unfolds his arms and pushes away from where he's leaning, stepping closer to her, slowly, as if he's unsure of himself, but when he brushes a hand to her arm, it's firm, confident.
"I'm not agreeing to marry you because of the document," he admits, sighing in frustrating as he tries to find the right words, taking a minute to try and put them in order in his head first. "I never intended to do it for that reason, even when we were young. But knowing that was a binding contact, it... I selfishly liked that, knowing that you would be mine, no matter who else came along." He's grown up a lot since, then, though, and, now, if she chose someone else, even later on down the line, he would never stand in her way, he would let her do whatever she needed to in order to be happy.
"I thought there was someone else, once, but I was young and stupid, and I paid for my mistake the same way I always do." He paid with his entire world burning to a crisp, but he still has one good thing left, he still has her. "But even before I saw her for what she really was, Brigid, I always knew she could never compare to you. When you came back, when you tracked me back here, I didn't want you because I wanted you to be happy, to be safe. I can't promise you either of those things, but I-- I want to try."
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"You don't need to worry about Markus anymore," he assures her, and he means it, even though he knows he can't promise, he's going to do everything within his power to ensure that he stays away whether he finds her or not; she's not a prize to be fought over and won, but she's clearly made her choice, so he intends to respect that. "If he comes, I'll see to it that he gets the message."
There's another long moment before he speaks again, but he unfolds his arms and pushes away from where he's leaning, stepping closer to her, slowly, as if he's unsure of himself, but when he brushes a hand to her arm, it's firm, confident.
"I'm not agreeing to marry you because of the document," he admits, sighing in frustrating as he tries to find the right words, taking a minute to try and put them in order in his head first. "I never intended to do it for that reason, even when we were young. But knowing that was a binding contact, it... I selfishly liked that, knowing that you would be mine, no matter who else came along." He's grown up a lot since, then, though, and, now, if she chose someone else, even later on down the line, he would never stand in her way, he would let her do whatever she needed to in order to be happy.
"I thought there was someone else, once, but I was young and stupid, and I paid for my mistake the same way I always do." He paid with his entire world burning to a crisp, but he still has one good thing left, he still has her. "But even before I saw her for what she really was, Brigid, I always knew she could never compare to you. When you came back, when you tracked me back here, I didn't want you because I wanted you to be happy, to be safe. I can't promise you either of those things, but I-- I want to try."