My initial response was one of anger. In a flurry of tears and screaming I tried to wrench the phone from Dijana. Then, as reality slowly dawned, I realized she had every right to know that the man she had married and made so many sacrifices for was a messed up person with serious issues.
It seems in character that he would be abusive in a situation like this and he is trying to minimise it (fewer “tears” and more “screaming” in reality) by appearing “reflective” about it. What a nightmare of a person to be around. When he does wrong it’s you who is at fault - the exact same manoeuvre he has attempted over the past year on anyone who has objected to his behaviour. The fact that he downplays his abuse (fake tears and all) does indicate that he is aware of how it would look from an outsider perspective. So he’s probably fully aware of what he’s doing over the past year too.