Victoria burst into tears.
Like beads on a severed rosary, they rolled down.
Something was crushing her heart. Something sour and swollen. An indescribable feeling welled up, shaking her to her core.
Charlie sighed and wrapped her in his arms.
Victoria sobbed even harder. She grabbed his clothes and buried her face in his chest, weeping like a child.
Five years. Four years of being apart, a single night of madness one year ago, and then giving birth to Joy on her own.
The emotions, the grudges, the sins between the two of them had almost exhausted her completely.
She'd wanted to give up. She'd wanted to take the child and run, to have a calm, peaceful life, free of the grips of something as hurtful as love.
For that, she'd even given up on her identity as a lady of the Kaur family. Given up on her father and her pampering.
But at a time like this, he was coming and saying something like this to her. Asking something like this of her.
Was he doing it on purpose?
Did he just not want her to be happy, coming here with the stick and the carrot so she wouldn't give up on hope entirely, leading her on like a fish on the hook.
By what right?
Just because she still liked him a little bit?
The more she cried, the more the agony dug at her. Whimpering, she balled up her fists and hammered at him.
Charlie didn't resist. He stood there, allowing her to let it all out on his unmoving frame.
After a while, Victoria grew tired, and her tears stopped.
She'd been about to get out from his arms, but the man pressed a hand against the back of her head and kissed her deeply.
Victoria's heart trembled and she gripped his clothes, her body growing weak.
After a long while, Charlie released her, took out his phone and made a call.
"Get the car ready and prepare the information we need to register for marriage, then wait downstairs..."
Victoria's eyes widened. Before she could react, the man had finished his commands and hung up.
Panicking, she demanded, "What was that about?"
Charlie put his phone away, looking at her seriously.
"Will you marry me, Victoria?"
"..."
"Let's ignore everything else and get married. Your family, my family, our mess of a past – we were so concerned about them before so we couldn't have the ending we wanted, only managing to exhaust each other. But we're not young anymore, and Joy needs a complete family. So let's throw it all out the window and get married. Everything will solve itself when we do, okay?"
Victoria froze there, rooted to the spot for a long while before shaking her head.
"N-no."
"Why not?"
Her face changed slightly and she forced her heart to harden.
"Why are you proposing now of all times, Charlie? Don't say that it's because you love me, because I don't believe you."
Charlie's face sank too.
He stared at her, his old iciness seemingly creeping back into his eyes. But he held it in and murmured, "Then why do you think it is?"
Victoria bit her lip and didn't reply.
Charlie suddenly laughed.
He reached out, stroking her face, voice low and clear. "You hurt me once five years ago, Victoria. So I left you for four years as revenge. You came to me on your own that night, one year ago. Are you trying to hurt me and abandon me again?"
Victoria trembled.
She clenched her fists, feeling her nails dig into her palm, the pain reaching her heart.
Charlie's eyes cooled completely as he looked at her with a shadowed gaze.
"But I'm not the Charlie Peck of five years ago now. I won't let you leave again. You're getting married with me no matter what, got it?"
Victoria opened her mouth, about to say something, then gave up.
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