The Stranger / Chris Evans x OC

Chapter 173: Future

AMELIA

Chris visibly freezes where he sits. I watch him as my words sink in, as he processes them. His eyes flicker momentarily to somewhere else than me, but then they flit back to watch my face again before he replies sternly, "If that's what it takes to earn your trust again, then I'll do it. I won't see her again."

My eyes roam his beautiful face; it's so hard to not get distracted by the simple beauty he holds, it's hard to ignore just how much I yearn to be in his embrace. I know that even if he told me he couldn't give her up, I might have still forgiven him, because I haven't felt truly like myself since the day he left my apartment and I know the only thing that could ever mend that is being with him. 

I hold eye contact for what feels like hours but is merely seconds before my head tilts, "Do you truly mean that? You would cut your oldest friend out of your life, just like that?"

Chris nods determinedly, "If that's what it takes, yes." 

His hands reach out for mine, and I allow my fingers to entwine with his, not out of pity but because it's simply impossible for me not to. I can feel the sparks of joy filtering through me just at the touch, and I know that my heart could forgive anything he'd ever do to me. But my mind knows better. 

My mind knows that the power he holds over me is dangerous, it's the one thing capable of shattering me wholly. I've never felt so completely at risk, so vulnerable before; my first instinct has always been to run, if I felt I was falling too deep. If I felt I was at risk of getting hurt. 

It's dizzying, knowing that there is truly nothing he could do that I wouldn't forgive, if it meant not losing him. It's terrifying to know just how firmly he holds my heart in the palm of his hand. 

The only thing that comforts me is the fact that I now know that I hold the same power over him. So much has been made clear, not just in the past month, but throughout our entire relationship. 

Which is why I stay quiet, watching him carefully as he continues speaking. 

"There is nothing on this earth I would not give up if it meant getting just a sprinkle of the future I imagine with you."

His words affect me, my lips quirking up in a small smile as my fingers squeeze his, "What future do you imagine?"

He smiles - it's soft, genuine, and adoring - before he replies, "I see lots of things. In mine though, you're all over it. You're my lover, my best friend, my wife.. The mother of my children.. My partner.. My confidant.. The one person I would always turn to, no matter what. The one person I would search for in a crowded room full of people. You're all over my version of the future, bug. There is no future without you." 

I let out a nervous breath, inkling closer to him unconsciously as I whisper, "You don't think you could find all of that with someone else?"

He shakes his head adamantly, "Absolutely not. Perhaps I could find someone who could distract me, if I got desperate enough some day, but if there's even a flicker of a chance of having you, I don't think I would ever be able to want anyone else. I want you, Amelia. I've said that since the beginning, and my opinion on the matter hasn't changed since. You're the one." 

I'm about to reply but he interjects, speaking again, "I want you with everything it entails. If you don't want to get married, if you don't want kids, if you want to focus on your career, I want to be there every step of the way. I would be happy and content with spending the rest of my life the way you want it to be. If you want to stay in New York to focus on your career, I'll move there to be with you. If you don't want kids, then we won't have any. Although, I'd hope you'd still want dogs.." He chuckles softly, shaking his head with a fond smile before he continues, "What I'm trying to say is that, you're in the driver's seat of this thing. I realized a while ago that you're the most important person in my life, the most important thing to me. I would be willing to give up and compromise on almost anything if you asked me to."