I couldn't understand; cheating was the one thing I'd told her all those years ago would be unforgivable. She knew, she said, but that was part of what had been confusing her, that I would even have told her that, as if she weren't an actual human being with the freedom to act, but some character in a scenario in my head. There was a quality I had of making the people closest to me feel lonely, somehow. Some essential cold withholding at the core of myself. . Garth Risk Hallberg
About This Quote

In the short story, “I Couldn't Understand” by Neil Gaiman, the narrator explains how he feels as though his lover has been cheating on him. In the beginning of the story, he describes himself as being a person who only gives his love to those that have been there for him through thick and thin. He tells his lover how he cannot understand why she would cheat on him, as she knows how much he cares for her. She also knows that he does not cheat on her.

He also argues with her about this cheating issue because cheating was the one thing that he told her all those years ago would be unforgivable. In other words, he never does anything wrong to her and therefore she should not do something wrong to him. However, it is not long before the narrator finds out that his lover has been cheating on him.

Source: City On Fire

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