Chapter 116

Emma's POV 

 "This is a lot." I croaked, as happy tears welled up in my eyes. 

 "No it isn't." He replied. "It's not really what I had in mind, but I needed to do something cause y'all were on your way and I wanted it to be a surprise." He looked nervous, and was babbling quite a lot, and I think I found that cute. 

 "I love you, Chase." I sobbed. He walked towards me, and took the bags out of my hand. I really couldn't care for what was in them. 

 "I love you too, Emma." He pressed a kiss to my forehead first, and then took the bags up the stairs. 

As I stood there, alone, looking at all the effort he must've put into transforming the house I felt so overwhelmed, and shitty. 

I can't believe I thought all those things about him. 

In my head, the relationship was really already at its end. 

 "Come on." He laughed on his way back down, "it's all for you." He stretched his hand and took mine in his. 

 "I feel so terribly underdressed." I croaked. "You should've told me." I winced. 

 "Well it wouldn't have been a surprise, would it?" He asked me

I chuckled nervously. 

Chase put his hand around my waist and pulled me closer. 

 "You're my queen, Emma." He whispered in my ear. "Don't you ever doubt that. 

 "I don't know what to say." I sobbed on his shoulders. 

 "Start by asking me to take you over there." He pointed in the direction of the dining table that he'd rearranged, with a red cloth covered in heart shapes, draping over it. 

 "Please." I obliged him, and soon, we were sitting facing each other. 

I felt like a fraud. For me, it was beginning to get weird and awkward. 

 "Babe," He held my hand across the table, "this is it. Me and you, today and tomorrow, till forever." 

I just kept on sobbing like a fool. 

 "Don't you like it?" He asked me, looking quite confused. 

 "I do, Chase. I actually do. I really didn't see it coming." I replied to him. 

 "I'm happy you are, Emma." He said. 

With all swagger and sexiness, he pushed his seat back and got up. I breathed in. Chase was full of surprises. 

 "May I?" He asked

I chuckled, wondering what exactly he was taking permission for. 

 "Please." I said in anticipation. 

Chase knelt down by my side, I could literally see his loafers squeeze from the pressure of his foot bending in it. 

 "Emma," He started. 

 "Chase." I replied weakly, on instinct. 

He held my two hands in his and held my eyes too with his. "Baby, I know I've made mistakes, far more than a few, and I really can't tell you how many times I've wished I could go back and rewrite those moments, Em. I want to erase all the hurts I've caused, because so far, one thing I've realized is that I don't wanna do this life thing without you. I know we never really talked about it, but all that time apart, I felt the emptiness of you not being there, no matter how hard I tried to fight it." 

His gaze fell.

 "The absence of your laughter, your voice, the way you look when you get lost in your own world. I've been in rooms full of people, Emma, but none of them light up the way you do. Emma, you're my only version of peace. You're the first breath I take in the morning, the calm after every storm. Time away from you only shows that my life is so much better with you in it. I want to spend all my time with you in it, making you happy."

 "I want to be the man who stands by you, learns from you, earns your trust again…" 

His eyes were red and watery. 

 "Chase, please get up." I sobbed. "Please." I begged, but he remained on bent knees. 

 "I want to be the man you make proud to call yours." I could've sworn Chase read a speech, but he looked really really genuine. 

 "Emma, I'm ready to love you with a love that's stronger, deeper than you ever knew was possible. Give us this chance, and I'll spend every day showing you that life can be beautiful a second time around. You're the love of my life, Emma, and I'll never stop fighting to be the man worthy of your heart. 

 "I'm leaving for Berlin tomorrow." I blurted. I didn't know what else to say! 

I sat there, with Kevin's card in my bra, and the self care products I bought for Berlin in the bags he took up the stairs. I felt like such a fraud. Like I was being dishonest with him. 

I literally saw him recoil. 

The tears in his eyes dried. He pursed his lips and looked away. 

I could see him processing a lot of thoughts. 

 "When did you make the arrangements?" He asked. 

 "Just today, with Lily." I replied to him. 

 "Just Lily?" He quizzed, giving me a weird look. 

 "Maybe Gray too?" I added. 

 "That's alright." He replied, getting up off his knees. "I'll get the food out of the oven." He said and walked into the kitchen. 

As he walked away, I wondered what must have been going through his mind. 

Before I could make sense of the whole thing, he arrived with a smoking hot dish of steaks, he had mittens on, but before I could say Jack R, the pan fell out of his hand and burnt the tablecloth. 

I was still at a loss for what to do, when, instinctively, I reached for it, to save it and it burnt my hand. 

I screeched and let go, and it dropped to the fucking floor. 

It was such a mess. I was burned, but I also felt guilty. 

 "I'll take care of it." Chase said, as I tried to pick it back up again.