"I've held onto all that for too long. Let it eat me from inside. But I'm done. I'm tired, Regina. I've let too much love slip through my fingers. I can't change the past… but I can stop letting it define me."
Regina's expression softened. She wasn't prepared for this version of her mother. This toned-down, human version—so different from the iron-willed Queen she remembered.
"So you're over him?" she asked quietly. "Augustus?"
The Queen gave a small smile. "I was in love with a boy who never truly loved me back. I've mourned that enough. All I want is peace now."
Regina stood silent for a moment. "I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," the Queen replied. "I know I took everything from you. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I…" Her voice broke for just a moment. "I miss my daughter."
There it was. The heart of it.