HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 1006

Chris turned to her. “What do you mean?”

Naomi looked at the city lights reflecting on the surface of the sea. For a few seconds, she said nothing, as though she were searching for the courage to say something she had kept to herself all this time.

“Marriage,” she finally said. “After everything that happened, I thought my life would end there.”

Her tone changed. There was no more laughter like there had been a few minutes earlier. All that remained was honesty and a little fear that had not completely disappeared. Naomi did not like remembering what had happened, but she also did not want to pretend that everything had been forgotten.

There had been a time when she felt her life could end at any moment. Even after returning home, a part of her was still afraid of losing what she had only just gotten back.

Chris did not answer immediately. He simply slowed his steps until they stopped for a moment. He then held Naomi's hand more tightly, as if to make sure she did not have to face those feelings alone.

“I know.”

Naomi looked at him. “Aren't you afraid?”

Chris nodded slowly. “I am.”

That answer left Naomi silent. She had expected Chris to say that everything would be all right, but he did not choose the easy answer.

But Chris continued, “I'm not afraid of marriage.”

Naomi waited for Chris to say more.

“I'm afraid you'll feel like you have to accept me just because everyone already knows about the proposal.”

Naomi's chest tightened for a moment. Not because she was sad, but because she had not expected Chris to think about that. All this time, she had thought she was the only one who still had fears. It turned out Chris had also been thinking about how she felt, even after standing before the entire family and declaring his desire to marry her.

“I don't want to rush you,” Chris continued. “If you need time, I'll wait.”

Naomi lowered her face. A small smile slowly appeared on her lips, but this time, she did not try to hide it. “But you still proposed to me in front of everyone.”

“Not because of circumstances or obligation.” Chris paused for a moment. “I choose you because I truly want to spend my life with you.”

There were no long words after that. Chris did not try to convince Naomi with excessive promises. He simply told her what he had truly wanted to say to her from the beginning.

Naomi stared at the man beside her for quite some time. Something slowly warmed inside her, something that had been buried beneath fear all this time. She could not erase what had happened. She also could not guarantee that their life together would always be free of problems. But for the first time, she did not feel that she had to know all the answers now.

Naomi smiled.

She continued walking with Chris, this time without holding onto the edge of his sleeve. Instead, her fingers sought out Chris's hand and held it tightly.

She still could not see the future clearly. But for the first time, the future no longer felt like something she had to fear.

Beside Chris, the future was beginning to feel like something she wanted to live.