@Scholdarr.452 I completely agree. That's pretty much the way Geralt felt about it as well and if you count in his lack of experience and inability to express himself... But at that point Yen was ready to take it to the next level and was open for discussion, I could recognize that more than easily while reading A Shard of Ice. There was no bullet to dodge so no need to act like a coward for Geralt. I still agree that the flaws of her personality overall might've even encouraged him with his decision. Problem is he was just scared of this new and unknown feeling, probably even more than Yennefer herself. People tend to run away when scared. They just both blamed themselves instead of blaming each other if that makes sense. Geralt wasn't ready for an open discussion, as he didn't grow up to that point yet. Just like Sapkowski said, purpose of Yen's creation was to let Geralt fully grow and understand his emotions.
I don't think Yen was open for a (real) discussion neither tbh. I don't know what leads you to think that but imo his inabilitiy to say the three magic words to her at that point wasn't the whole crux of their relationship. Like I said before, I have the feeling that you limit their issue purely to the emotional level. But it's more to it than that. In Shard of Ice Yen actually renewed her inablitiy to understand Geralt on a more social level. She want him to change without showing any will to change herself. She still wants him to settle down in a city although she knows that he hates it. She doesn't care. If Geralt wants to live with her he has to adapt, to bear, to swallow. I don't call that being open for discussion, at least not completely. At that point in the story Yen is far away from making compromises or even sacrifice anything. That moment of katharis is reached only months or years later in the pentalogy when Yen finally acknowledges that she has to make sacrifices for the ones she love (but then again it's more about Ciri than it is about Geralt...). You remember that little scene in The Lady of the Lake when they both talk about for the last time before Ciri and Yen travel to the lodge just before the pogrom in Rivia? That's a moment of clarity for them if you ask me, a moment in which their unhealthy dominant-submissive scheme seems to crack up with Geralt ackknowledging that he has to take a more active part in the relationship no matter the consequence and Yen acknowledging that she can't always treat Gerealt like that, just deciding what to do and keeping silent about her motivations. It's a short moment of mutual recognition, just before the end.
And yes, Yen's purpose is to let Geralt grow. But since Sapkowski is a good writer he did that in mutual way. Same is true for Yennefer. She grows as well in their relationship.