Let Go (Hoseok X OC)

Chapter 36

A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE! Please read Chapter 35 first.

Ray POV:

Ray's eyes widened in shock at the handsome man on one knee in front of her, the beautiful round diamond ring on display, sparkling in the light in its bed of white satin. Hoseok had rendered her speechless with his question.

Hoseok let out a nervous chuckle, running a hand through his hair. "Ummm... it would be great if you could give me an answer," he said, his words more confident than his voice.

"Hobi, I don't think you know what you're saying," Ray began, trying to find the best way to have this discussion with him. Although she loved him and wanted to stay with him, the sad fact is they only have been together a short while. If the only reason he was proposing was because she was leaving then it was the wrong reason.

Hoseok's mouth dropped open and he shakily got to his feet, sitting heavily in the chair and closing the box with a quiet snap. He turned the box around between his fingers, his eyes on Ray's face. "What... what do you mean?" he stammered, his voice soft in disbelief.

Ray reached over for his hand, her heart breaking when he moved it out of her reach. "I'm leaving Hobi. I'm leaving in less than a month. There's no way I can stay here with you," she tried to explain, keeping her voice gentle.

Shaking his head, Hoseok set the box on the table. "But there is a way. If you marry me, you can stay. You won't have to leave Korea. You won't have to leave me," he insisted. "We can be together."

Sighing, Ray twisted her fingers together. "What made you decide to propose?" she asked, wanting to know what was going on in his mind.

Hoseok ran his hands through his hair. "You were leaving me," he said. "I want you to stay. Since it would take too long to get you a permanent Visa, this was the only way I knew to keep you here with me."

Ray smiled sadly. "Oh Hobi, I wish it were that simple," she replied. "But just wanting me to stay is not a reason to get married." The thought of marrying Hoseok and staying by his side forever did strange things to her heart, but she knew he didn't ask for the right reasons.

"Wanting to spend the rest of my life with you isn't a good enough reason?" Hoseok demanded, his eyes flashing in anger. "I'm so in love with you that I want to spend my life with you. I want to marry you. It's all I want."

"If I wasn't leaving, you wouldn't be asking me this question," Ray argued, not understanding why this was so hard. Hard for her to explain. Part of her was telling her to stop, tell him she'll marry him since that's what she wanted more than anything, but the more controlling part was telling her that saying no was the right thing to do.

"Why?" Hoseok asked, his eyes filling with tears. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Ray reached for his hand again, but Hoseok yanked it away, swiping the tears away that had started to spill down his cheeks. "Hobi please..." she began, but Hoseok cut her off, standing up and shoving the box in his pocket.

"No. It's fine. I get it," Hoseok said, his face blank and his voice stiff. "You don't want to stay here. You don't want to marry me. I get it."

Standing up, Ray clenched her hands at her sides. "Stop it Hobi," she pleaded. "That's not what I'm saying." She didn't understand how everything had gone so wrong so fast. What was happening here?

Hoseok let out a short laugh, his eyes filled with a coldness that forced Ray to take a step backwards. "That's exactly what you're saying. You've basically told me that I only want to marry you to keep you here. But that's not the damn truth. I want to marry you because I love you more than anything in this whole world and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. However, it's clear you don't want that."