Some think the marriage proposal did it. That what she had been working towards all those years was to snatch him and keep him under her determined, or rather stubborn, thumb. And yes, the very idea of being joined in matrimony with him completely swept her off her feet. Quite literally, as well, for she had fainted right then and there.
But there's so much more to that evening that most do not, and cannot, understand. The man himself included. It wasn't the way he burst in from the rain and requested her hand in marriage from her father. Nor was it the kiss that they'd shared, passionate and impulsive as it had been, moments before.
It was later, in the warm, dark comfort of their hallway, where Kotoko's heart finally soared. She had barely grabbed hold of his pajama shirt, still uncertain of his affection, before she had revealed her doubts whole-heartedly. Her heart had still hammered with uncertainty and anxiety, as though it desperately wished there was a hand in that doubt to clutch to. She had told him once again that she loved him. That she hadn't known he loved her as well.
And then the hand her heart had been searching for came in the shape of three words and reached out from his heart to grasp hers.
"I love you."
Her heart then soared, altogether excited and soothed, bordering on some kind of delightful clench. He pulled her to him, and she could feel his heart hold hers, for that moment, as he held her.
Her arms lifted on their own accord to receive his embrace. She couldn't stop repeating those words in her mind, not in that moment, not through that night. She wouldn't for the rest of her life. She had heard him say the words she never thought would come from his own lips, and it was more than the silly stuff of dreams. It was more than a kiss in the rain. Or a dramatic, impromptu proposal.
It was real. It was in his deep, soothing voice and it was sincere. This, this moment, is the moment Kotoko treasures most.