Please don't be semantic. Relationship is relationship. They are still family.
I honestly hope those who think this "get out my life" is justification for what happened never ever have kids. What you going to do when the tell you one day how much they hate you and to leave them alone because you've done something for their own good and safety they don't like. Ok, I'll leave you along, get out the house and don't come back.
But you're the parent you cant do that. Duh, same for siblings.
U know such a relationship is a two way road even if u are family. Sure family should stick together, but just being family isn't a absolution for everything. Being cold and having fights for 10 years is more than enough of a reason to cut ties, if there is no intend on the other side to fix this.
Parents throwing a child out of the house is not that uncommen.
Personaly i decided to cut my mother out of my life, after a rather apathetic relationship (starting as i was 6-7y) and a lot of fights from her side later on, with no sign of wanting to change.
Aslo many people after some sort of mental trauma or depressions as a example clear the field and cut ties with people which are a not a healty influence on them.
Why would u stick with people which u haven't/can't have a healty relationship with ? It is only a burden for yourself, be it friends, loved ones or family and often leads or worsens all sorts of mental problems.
If you believe that she got hurt whether he intended to do so or not, please give example where Jaye got hurt...
1. As a child = because MC made a one-sided decision to shut her out (misunderstanding with good intent)
And u think that her reaction to that was in any way normal or reasonable, if she didn't get deeply hurt ?
4. After graduation party = because MC made the third one-sided decision to leave the family (Jaye wanted to talk about it, but robbed the chance to do so, 100% MC's fault despite the good intention)
Which was caused by Jaye being cold and angry and pushing him away for 10 years.
Also this was not a one sided decision he made for Jaye, it was a decision he made for himself, as he coudn't endure the situation anymore. She has absolutly no right to blame him for this, this happens when u push people away for years.
She had ten years prior to talk and now it is his fault for leaving before she get a chance to talk ? Sorry but thats bs.
5. At George's office #1 = because she thought MC didn't come to the funeral and didn't call (Jaye acknowledged her fault and apologized once proven otherwise, but MC drove away on Uber and randomly decided to go to Aspen uninvited to rob her the chance to talk yet again)
Jaye didn't apologized a single time in person, not in the past and not in the present. The only thing she apologized for was for the blocked number, via text and begging him to come back after he left, also only text and it is unclear what she actually wrote back than.
Why was it randomly that the MC goes to Aspen ?
He was in the city, he tried to call Jaye for about 20 times which she didn't responded to for obvious reasons, he thought she wanted no contact, so he made other plans.
Him being away for years and nowhere to go, he decided to go back to Aspen where he had people he has a good relationship with.
He lost his parents and has a guilty conscience as he wasn't there, so him working and distracting himself or clearing his head also might come into play.
If u want a talk with someone, it would maybe a good idea not to be behaving like a cunt and lashing out on the person u want to have a talk with, demanding answears also doesn't help if u want to have a civil talk, apologizing for lashing out is the bare minimum she could have done.
As said before the MC owes her absolutly nothing, considering their relationship over the last 15 years.
6. At George's office #2 = because Mallory kissed MC (not MC's fault as Mallory randomly kissed him, misunderstanding because it appeared as if MC had time for Mallory but not for Jaye)
Which is basicialy what happend with Mr.Rapey, just that it wasn't randomly on her part, or with Tara. In what way does she thinks she has any claims at all on mc, or has any say if he decides to has a relationship or with whom ?
While not explicitly mentioned, it was also clear that she wanted MC's help the day when she was almost raped (but unfortunately yet again, another misunderstanding that led to MC thinking otherwise so he shut himself in the room instead).
And yet she didn't try to talk with him about it after that, neither why she was with him, why she wasn't at the game, nor what mr.rapey tried to do.
What reaction do u expect from the MC in that situation ? There was no hint that anything bad has happend to her and the mc wanted to talk with her afterwards, including his feelings for her...which was how he found out about the attempted rape in the first place.
The other part that I disagree with is your claim that she has been shutting out MC all these years. If she had been shutting out MC, she wouldn't have bothered coming to his football games, taking sports that didn't clash with his, giving him birthday gifts, etc.
The talk the MC in the bar was clear thought, he mentions the opposide of love is apathy, which should be how he saw their relationship.
From the time he left to the end, Jaye reached out 6 times, the MC ignored or deflected or ran away.
Oh please care to elaborate, because i only saw 2 times where he ignored her (ignoring her texts after he left and then the meeting after they meet for the first time in years), both understandable in the situation, now i'm really curious where the other 4 times are.
I also don't know why everyone keeps going on about her in the heat of the moment comments about leaving like it's some excuse absolving the MC of everything. After he left, Jaye responded with more anger initially because she was even more hurt now he ran away. Despite her words she never ever wanted him gone. She then started pleading for him to return. Within the first months he left, she was begging and pleading, and in true in his true heroic dickhead nature, he does what he always does, ignored it.
The Mc already planned to leave for year before the fight, the fight in the end only made him leave sooner.
It is understandable that he left after the fight, he was in Love with her, he endured 10 years of a bad relationship with her, which was why he planned to leave in the first place. Now on the day of the fight she threw some very heavy lines at him, wanted to punch him in the face etc.
Do you think these kind of things would be easy for anyone to endure when it is said by the person u love, even if it is only in the heat of the moment ?
Also it fits Jaye usual behavior of being cold and angry, pushing him away, over the last years.
Yeah Jaye didn't mean the things she said, like she didn't want a cold relaionship with him, nor being angry or pushing him away for years. But what she wanted and what she did/behaved over years are very different things and it isn't the Mc's fault for not understanding her, if she did everything in her might to push him away.
He tried to talk with Jaye over the years, that was stated in the bar talk, but she didn't wanted back than, so he came to his own conclusion, to leave, to move on from Jaye and that he loved her.
This was his decision, he did it for himself, not for her. It is a understandable decision, seeing as their relationship was bad and he sufferd from it.
They wanted different things at that time, replying wouldn't have solved anything, it would have only made it more difficult for him to move on and going back was not a solution for him.
Jaye made her choices, she pushed him away over the years, just because she now sees the consequences of her actions doesn't mean the mc has any obligations to jump in the first plane and go back, not after she pushed him away for so long.