He opened the door slowly and came face to face with her. His heart stopped in his chest. It was her. The love of his life. His tutor. His girlfriend. His wife. The girl who taught him how to love...and then broke his heart. Her tiny body looked weak, and her tear-stained cheeks were caught by the porch light.
"Hi." It was all she said. All she needed to say. As he stared at her, he began to feel the rush of emotions that he had been trying so desperately to repress. His right hand jumped to caress the ring finger of his left, which was regretfully empty. He would have forgiven her for everything right then if she had asked him to. She was home. She chose him. It didn't matter what happened in between. In the end, she chose love. It was all he could ask for. He took two steps toward her and enveloped her small frame in his long arms. She began to weep into his chest. "I'm sorry...so sorry... It wasn't about Chris. It never was. I should have come back before now.. I never should have left... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He could think of only one thing to say.
"I love you" he whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer. She let out a small whimper and clung to the extra fabric at the back of his shirt. He just held on tighter. He had let go of her once, and it was the biggest mistake of his life. He was never going to let go again.
Once inside, Haley sat down on the couch next to Nathan. She stared at him, hardly believing she was there. Don't ever leave my side, she kept thinking. Her eyes were watering but the tears would not fall. She was done crying. She was happy for the first time in months. She began to fumble through her purse until she finally found what she was looking for. As she held it up between her thumb and forefinger Nathan could see what it was: A small, golden band. Her wedding ring.
"You asked me why I didn't wear it... I... I didn't... think I deserved to. I didn't think I deserved you, Nathan. Leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life. Please. You said we were over, but you can't mean it. Nathan, I made a mistake. Forgive me..." she trailed off with a pleading look in her eyes. He shook his head and took the ring out of her trembling hand. And as he had done before, he placed it on her finger.
"I promised you forever, didn't I?"