Chapter 296

I couldn't help but laugh and give him a playful pat on the shoulder. "Come on, that handwriting was totally yours. How could I not know it was from you?"

Royce's eyes locked onto mine, and I could tell something was up.

"What's going on?"

I thought maybe something had happened.

Royce's lips moved like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he just pulled me into a hug.

His embrace felt so familiar and comforting, and his cologne surrounded me.

I whispered, "Isn't this the cologne I gave you?"

"Yeah, I've been using it ever since you gave it to me. I figured you liked the scent."

I nodded. "You guessed right. I do like it."

We held each other tightly, not saying a word for a while. That little memory we talked about was just a tiny part of our long history, but it made us feel so nostalgic.

I suddenly remembered what I had said to Kathy earlier. My voice trembled a bit as I spoke. "Why didn't you tell me how you felt back then?"

"If you had told me sooner, maybe we wouldn't have gone through all this..."

I still regretted it deeply.

Tears started to fall.

Royce's shirt collar got wet, and he shuddered, sensing my emotions. He quickly held my shoulders and pushed me back a little to look at my tear-streaked face.

"Hey, don't cry. Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Royce looked at me, puzzled, but his eyes were still gentle.

Through my tears, I moved closer to him. "Royce, since you're here today, there's something I need to tell you."

"Go ahead..."

Royce held my hand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Even though today was just a visit, and sitting on your bed might not be appropriate, since you have something to say, I'll sit down."

I wiped my tears and took a moment to compose myself.

"Actually, when we had our falling out, I talked to my mom about it. I told you most of it, but there's one thing I never mentioned-about the kids."

I thought for a moment. "I'm not just talking about my four kids. If I agree to be with you, we'll eventually talk about marriage. But with my current situation, I already have four kids, and I don't think I'll have any more..."

"You're an amazing guy. If you want to get married, there are plenty of people who would be willing. So, are you really okay with being with me, even if we don't have kids of our own?"

It took all my courage to ask this.

If Royce showed even a hint of hesitation, I might not continue the conversation.

But he looked at me with such seriousness and determination, answering almost without hesitation, "I don't care about that now."

"I know what you're thinking-just because I don't care now doesn't mean I won't in the future. But you know what kind of person I am. I only think about the present. Right now, I want to be with you, and that's been my regret and obsession for so many years. Now that I finally have the chance to be with you again, how could I let it slip away..."

Royce cupped my face gently.

"And to be honest, Caroline, if we're talking about kids, I do hope we could have one together someday."

Royce had always been sincere about this.

I nodded. "I'm just worried we might have disagreements about this in the future..."

Royce held my hand firmly.

"No, listen to me."

I took a deep breath and looked at him seriously.

"Having three kids must have been really tough for you. I know you've been through a lot. All these years, I haven't gotten married because I thought if you and Brandon were happy together, it wouldn't matter if I stayed single forever. I've already considered that, so whether we have kids or not doesn't matter."

I hadn't expected him to think about these things.

"You've been keeping an eye on me?"

Otherwise, how would he know I was with someone else and had kids?

Royce nodded. "You might not know, but I've always been keeping track of how you're doing. Especially after I came back to the country."

Thinking about all he had done for me in silence made my heart ache.

"But if we're together, we'll eventually talk about this..."

"It's okay, Caroline. If you really don't want kids, we can write an agreement and settle it before marriage."

Royce wiped my tears again.

"Why are you crying so much now? I can't keep up with wiping your tears."

I turned my face away, embarrassed.

Maybe it's because I've seen too much lately.

Whether it was Joanna or Brandon, these things weighed on my mind.

Maybe I'm just a fragile person, and dealing with everything recently has been my limit.

"What I'm saying is, don't cry. As long as we're together, we can solve everything. Don't overthink it."

Royce hugged me and swayed gently. "Caroline, I won't say anything too sweet. I just know that as long as we're together, I can overlook everything else."

All my worries gradually faded away with his comfort.

Royce was really good to me.

Even after our embrace and kiss, when the atmosphere should have turned romantic, he held back his thoughts to talk to me about this.

And even after I said I didn't want more kids, he responded with such determination and acceptance.

"One more thing... If we do end up together, you don't have to worry about me having issues with your kids. I'll treat them as my own."

"Just like you do with Aria."

Aria wasn't my biological child, but I had raised him as my own. Royce said this to reassure me.

I nodded. "Got it... Then I'll give you a one-month trial period to become my boyfriend."

It seemed like my sudden mention of this caught Royce off guard.

He looked at me for a while before excitedly kissing my cheek. "Okay, thank you, Caroline."

"What's there to thank me for..."

I felt a bit embarrassed, touching my nose and whispering, "You're welcome."