Except you didnāt. You said, āI haveā¦ love for you,ā as if it were an infection.
Except Stede hasnāt told Ed he loves him because he respects his boundaries.
Except you canāt make yourself feel better, Izzy, by equating yourself with Stede. By suggesting Ed has a pattern for hurting people he has romantic feelings for, because he canāt bear to be loved in return, or whatever it is youāre suggesting.
Hearing he is ālovedā, isnāt why he shot you, though it confused and disgusted him. It was because you reduced the mess created over your abuse towards him, to his feelings over Stede āfuckingā Bonnet.
Hearing he is loved, isnāt why Ed left Stede, because he never said it, though it is what Ed needs to believe, and eventually will.
Edās not a complicated man. He is a man very capable of loving and being loved. Itās others he doubts because he has been let down, lied to, and dehumanised, and you just donāt understand him at all.
And you are not the forerunner, with your First Wivesā Club delusion. Oh, he did it to me first. Heās just a bit toxic like that. No. And no.
