Don’t apologize for what isn’t your fault just to end the tension. Save sorry for when it’s real.

Apologising to clear the air works immediately and costs you slowly. It buys quiet by accepting a version of events you do not believe, and once accepted, that version becomes the record you both work from next time. It also wears the word out, so your real apologies start arriving like another reflex. Discomfort is not the same thing as guilt.

When the tension is there and you did nothing, try naming it instead: say you can see they are upset and ask what they need. Keep sorry for things you actually did. You can be kind without pleading guilty.