[...oh. Well. It’s not like he never thought about how it’d likely be more manageable if he had an actual spouse or partner instead of how things were now, but...

...

Yeah, it probably would be good to stop pining after Hendrik, wouldn’t it. Or, at the very least, to try and get to work on moving on from the idea. It’s... not going to happen, in all likelihood.]

...I simply was too stubborn to talk to the doctor or the nursemaid for options regarding overnight help. That is all there is to it, and it will not happen again.

[...he looks stubbornly at his empty soup bowl as he says it instead of at Hendrik.]