After hearing what Nicole said, Kerr was now sure that she had known the truth of the wedding. He held on to her shoulders and made her face him. "I know that I have hidden secrets from you for a long time, and there were even surprises that made you sad. I sincerely apologize about them. But, believe me when I say that in this world or the next, only you are qualified to stand by my side and become my wife.
You, and only you, are my one and only." Kerr placed a hand on her waist, and the other gently pinched her cheeks. He loved her so much that every part of her was lovely and everything she did was beautiful.
Still, Nicole kept the act no matter how much loved and happy she was inside. "Humph! I still don't believe you. After all, you never proposed to me, and I don't want to marry you without that."
Recalling the feeling of sadness and pain before knowing the truth, she deliberately made things difficult for Kerr as a revenge. However, deep down, Nicole did not care about the formalities at all. In her heart, she was already satisfied and contented as long as they could be together. That, for her, was enough.
She knew that she could not please everybody, and so she decided that she did not need to get everyone's approval to be with Kerr, and what was important was what she and Kerr had and also the support of her important family and friends.
As she stared at the doting eyes of Kerr, even though she looked tough on the outside, she felt sorrowful and worried whenever she thought of how hard Kerr was working for the surprise for her these days. Add to that the strikes his own family hit him with.
"I'm really sorry, Nicole. Although it is not the perfect wedding you have dreamed of, I promise that I will make it up for you in the future.
Well, speaking of proposals, are you still willing to be with me if things turn out differently than we want to?" Then, Kerr did not hesitate as he took the jewelry box out of his pocket and knelt down on one knee in front of Nicole.
He raised his head and slowly opened the jewelry box to reveal the ring that would be the symbol of his love for her.
Back then, on the celebration party of the Gu Group, it was there when Kerr had planned to propose to Nicole, and everything was already according to plan until the Gu family members interrupted them.
Right now, there were no flowers, no witnesses, no grand ceremony or even a grand banquet, but right there in the ward, as Nicole stared at Kerr's sincere and loving eyes, her eyes could not help but brim with tears.
She never thought that Kerr, as busy as a businessman he was, would actually kneel down in front of her with a ring in his hand. At that very moment, she did not know how to react.
Nicole gasped as she saw the diamond ring, sparkling in front of her. "Kerr... Is this real? Are you serious? I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked in disbelief and surprise.
Seeing Nicole's reaction, Kerr did not know whether he should laugh at her or cry in tears of joy. "Of course, silly. I am serious about you, about us, and about our future together." Without giving her a chance to refuse, Kerr reached for Nicole's left hand and placed the ring gently and smoothly on her finger.
After that, he stood up and placed his hands on her waist again.
"But, I haven't said anything," Nicole said. Despite her reply, she stared at the ring with wide eyes, surprised that Kerr actually knew her finger size well for the ring fit perfectly on her. Seeing that her finger wasn't empty anymore made her feel that this band was going to be her label as Kerr's woman for the rest of her life. With that, she felt very happy.
"Why? Are you planning to refuse me?" With that, he teased her by lifting her up by the waist and carrying her back to the bed behind them. Nicole did not struggle as she was still ecstatic about the ring.
Kerr looked at her with confidence in his eyes. He never thought that she could get rid of his control.
Nicole shrugged, and with her eyes still on her hand, she replied, "We don’t know that." Contrary to her words, her actions showed that she was very happy. With her right hand, she touched the diamond ring gently as if she had been working hard in this relationship, and this was the reward she was hoping to have her efforts paid off. Indeed, this was the best ending she could finally get.
After all, who said that marriage was worthless? Until this very moment, Nicole felt that marriage conveyed a lot of things and even responsibilities. Once they took their vows, they had to maintain these promises to each other for the rest of their lives together.
"In that case, if you refuse me, then I will ask our daughter to come out of your belly to persuade you to marry her father," Kerr joked. He then sat beside Nicole on the bed, bent down, and gently landed a kiss on her belly.
In my world, there is no such thing as giving up. Besides, how do you expect me to do that after all that we have been through? How do you expect me to give up on our baby? Honestly, just because the baby is in your body does not give you the right to decide alone, because the baby is ours.
If you give up on our relationship, then you might be able to live without me, but how about me? I know I can't and will not be able to live without you. That's like life without life. You are the whole world to me, so there is no way I can leave you and our baby. I will do everything that it takes to be with you no matter how hard the struggle will be.
There is nothing more than I need and ask for, because all I need and want is what is in front of me already. Everything else is meaningless. To be honest, when I met you, I know I had wasted a lot of time. I don't want to waste any more time. If I can be with you now, then we will make it happen."
Looking at Nicole's loving and worried eyes, Kerr could not help but express his genuine feelings and thoughts about her and them, so that she would feel at ease even just a little bit. More so now that he noticed that she had been losing her sense of security ever since she got pregnant.
It was also because of how much doubts, criticisms, and negative feedback she received from his family and other people that most likely stressed her and broke her security. Worse was that someone was evil enough to attempt to hurt the unborn child inside of Nicole.
For Kerr, taking the chance to live from an unborn baby was already crossing the line, and that was something that Kerr swore would never allow to happen no matter the risks and costs.
Hearing Kerr's profession of his love, Nicole could not help but let her tears roll down her cheeks. "Kerr, thank you for staying by my side and for not giving up on me, on us." She was really deeply moved that she hugged Kerr tightly around her arms.
As a matter of fact, it was believed that in this cruel world, if a man decided to never give up on a woman, then they would have a chance to be together forever.
On the other hand, if the man was hesitant about their relationship, no matter how hard the woman tried, all her efforts would be in vain, and there was no way she would be able to change his mind.
With this thought in mind, Nicole felt very blessed and grateful to have met Kerr. With him, she was certain that she had nothing to fear in this life anymore.
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