"It would hurt me", he whispered softly under the protective blanket of the night.

He held her closer in his arms, "You are my everything."

He paused. "It upsets me to see you unhappy. I want nothing more than your happiness..."

Another pause.

"So I understand if you left. If you left me, if you left this world."

He struggled to find the right words.

"I'd understand but it would still hurt."