The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 906

Naylor shook his head. "You being so rational and decisive makes me wonder if you ever actually loved me. Were you just playing me from the start? Scamming me to pay your way?"

"No! Of course I love you. It's exactly because I love you that I didn't want to drag you down with me!" Katrina blurted out.

Hearing that confession, the dark cloud that had hovered over Naylor for months instantly vanished, replaced by a radiant sense of clarity.

"You love me enough to suffer alone just so I wouldn't have to deal with the fallout?" His voice softened. His hand, still gripping hers, slowly slid upward until his fingertips gently traced the curve of her cheek.

Katrina trembled slightly. Feeling his breath draw closer, her defensive walls instinctively shot up.

She had a pretty good idea of what he was about to do.

"Naylor, don't do this. Let's just talk... Mmph!"

Before she could finish her warning, Naylor lost all his restraint. He tilted his head, pressing his firm lips against her soft, stubborn mouth.

Katrina shuddered uncontrollably, but Naylor was faring no better.

He dropped the hand bracing against the wall and wrapped it tightly around her waist, pulling her away from the plaster and pressing her flush against his chest.

At first, Katrina put up a quiet resistance, her body completely rigid. But as the kiss deepened, the familiar, intoxicating scent of him swept her mind back to the sweetest days of their romance.

In a heartbeat, all her stubborn pride melted away. Her tense spine finally relaxed against his hold.

"Katrina... if we could turn back time to that night, you at least owed me a question. You should have heard my answer, shouldn't you?" Naylor murmured seductively between kisses.

Katrina shook her head slightly. "There was no need. Forcing someone into something they don't want never ends well."

"You don't know that. You have to try to find out."

Katrina fell silent. She opened her eyes, staring into his intense gaze from just inches away.

Katrina stared at him, dazed. Her tear-filled eyes sparkled with overwhelming emotion as she bit her lip and swallowed hard.

"Naylor..." Panic still fluttered in her chest, but it was no longer the heavy dread of losing him. Instead, a bubbling, radiant joy was taking over. "You really don't have to do this just because you feel sorry for me—"

"I don't. I just don't want to lose you. If I have to choose between getting married and living without you, I choose marriage."

Sometimes, it took losing something to truly understand its value. If they hadn't broken up, Naylor never would have realized his own truth so quickly. He never would have understood just how irreplaceable this woman was to him.

Katrina frowned, then bit her lip again. The rapid shifts in her expression gave away the absolute storm of emotions raging inside her.

Ecstasy, relief, and thrill clashed with the lingering bitterness, grievances, and helplessness of the past few months.

"Naylor..." she suddenly burst into tears, her voice cracking instantly. "I wasn't trying to force you into a corner. I just... I just..."