was young. He fell in love. The MC was stuck at at a crossroad, and as she say, "he was her best option". I mean, who knows, if it's not the ML, the MC might gonna be forced to marry a grandpa for the sake of family. He wanted to be her knight.
Then, The MC fell into a depression. He tried to understand her, truly, but as we can see from chapter 26, it's just SO HARD to actually understand the "why" a depression. The MC herself can't pinpoint the reason. The ML then blame himself. He loved her so much, but then he realized that he might actually the one who destroyed her. He felt that he failed her, and he perceived that the MC can never, ever love him because she's just her "best option". He also felt that he failed her son, because the ML might perceived that the MC's harsh treatment to their son stemmed from the ML's failure.
And the MC also...accidentally spew a lot of poison in a nonchalant tone. She keeps saying " You are my best option " in a weary, mildly blaming, and kind of bitter manner, like she's saying "this is all your fault, you can't bring me happiness, i suffer in your care" and "this is all just business" To him. Imagine being told about it again and again by someone that you truly love. I can't blame her...depression is like that. It's silent, like a snake in the dark, and you'll only realize that it's a depression until it's too late. When you become depressed, it's..the people around you will also be affected negatively. She even neglected their child, hated him even. Her attitude then has become toxic too....
And the thing is,ove is something that NEEDS to be cultivated and maintained, especially in something like a marriage. It's a commitment, after all, and it took effort. Those happily ever after is a bull without real effort behind it. This is why so many marriage ended up in a divorce. Like this story, where all the miscommunication slowly piling up until the chasms between them so wide and when they realized it, they were already at the point of no return..