My boyfriend (35M) got me (38F) a love knot seashell necklace that belongs to his deceased wife. How do I tell him?

I forgot to post yesterday. I’m still getting harassing DMs from a chambersor who thinks she knows me even though I’ve never heard of her. I blocked her, but I guess she made some more accounts and kept hitting me up. Maybe I’ll make a post about it eventually. <br><br>My family and I drove back to our home yesterday and we’ve been unpacking today. My boyfriend and his son came by to help but I could tell something was up. He wouldn’t look me in the eye and he just seemed distant. I asked him what was wrong and he said he didn’t want to bother me with it but his cat wasn’t doing well. I told him to tell me if there was something else and he said there wasn’t, so I dropped it. <br><br>When he left I went back into my office to grab a few more boxes and saw the necklace on my desk in a box. I opened it and recognized it immediately. It was the necklace he gave me. When I opened the shell I saw the inscription and the name “Emily”. I knew his wife’s name was Emily. I felt sick and I knew I had to tell him something, but I really didn’t want to start an argument. I was trying to decide what to do when he called me. I usually answer his calls immediately but I let it go to voicemail. <br><br>I’m guessing he called because he couldn’t wait to tell me about his cat. When he didn’t answer I decided to come clean. I texted him a photo of the necklace and a brief explanation of what it was and that I knew his wife’s name was Emily. I waited a few minutes and then called him. When he answered he asked what the photo was and I said, “Is your cat okay?” He said no and I asked if I could talk to him and he said where. I said at home and he said okay, so I drove home and we talked on the phone while I waited for him to get there. <br><br>I told him that I knew it wasn’t a great time but I had to ask him something and I wanted to do it face to face. He agreed and said he was sorry again about his cat. I asked if it was his cat’s name and he said no, just a nickname. So his cat is named Nick? Or Nicky? Or something like that? I don’t even care because a cat is a cat. Anyway, when I saw him he was sitting on the couch and he had his head in his hands. He looked really defeated. I asked him to tell me what was going on with his cat. He tried to hold it together but he kept breaking down and apologizing to me. He said his cat had been having some health issues and he took her to the emergency vet early yesterday morning. She was in kidney failure, so that was probably not a great sign, and the vet said she had to euthanize her immediately because her condition was so severe. <br><br>He said he had to go and I said of course and he left. I was sad for him, obviously, but I still hadn’t told him my concerns about the necklace. I decided to make dinner and I was hoping he wouldn’t show up because I didn’t want to have this conversation with him when he was upset. Unfortunately, he did show up, and he stayed for dinner. We were eating and he wasn’t really eating anything, just pushing his food around. I finally told him and he was quiet for a while and then he got mad and said I shouldn’t have said anything and I should have just ignored it. I asked if it was really from his wife and he said yes. I asked if she died recently and he said no, she died 15 years ago. <br><br>I asked if he had given me a piece of his dead wife’s jewelry and he said I misunderstood. I asked if he thought this was OK and he said no. I asked if he was seeing someone else and he said no. I told him I needed some time to process and he said okay, and he left. <br><br>A couple hours later I got a text that said, “I’m so sorry.” I asked what he was sorry for and he said he didn’t want to pressure me into wearing the necklace and he knows I’d rather not. I said I was sorry I hurt his feelings and he said I didn’t. He said he’s sorry his cat had to pass away. That was it. I’m in bed now. I still feel weird about it, but I think it’s just because I’m sad for him. I don’t know if I feel better knowing his wife died before he and I met, or if it would have been worse if she died recently. I don’t know if I’m going to bring it up again or if I should just drop it. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. What do you think?