“I don’t understand,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Ryan took a deep breath, and I could see the struggle etched on his face. “Remember back in high school, the times I made your life hard? The things I said?”

“Of course,” I replied, unable to mask the hurt. “How could I forget?”

“I haven’t either,” he continued. “But it wasn’t just me being cruel. I was… I was trying to push you away.”

“Push me away?” I echoed, confused. “Why?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, a gesture of old frustration. “Because I liked you. Because I didn’t know how to deal with that. I was an idiot kid, afraid of my own feelings. So, I took the coward’s way out. I was mean when I should have been kind.”

It felt like the room was spinning. I sat down on the bed beside him, trying to absorb his confession. “You liked me?”

“Yes,” he said, his voice filled with regret. “And I was too scared to be honest. Even now, it’s hard. But I wanted to marry you because I wanted to finally do right by you. To start over and show you that I could be someone worthy of your love.”

My mind was a storm of emotions. Anger at his past cowardice, confusion over the years lost, and a strange, tentative hope that maybe, just maybe, this was real.

“Why tell me this now?” I asked, needing to know.

“Because I don’t want any more secrets between us,” he said, his eyes meeting mine with a sincerity that was hard to deny. “I want us to be built on honesty, on truth, no matter how messy it is. I want you to see all of me, the good and the bad, and know that I’m here, truly here, wanting to be a better man for you.”

Silence stretched between us, heavy and expectant. Could I trust this new version of Ryan? Dare I believe that he had truly changed?

“I don’t know what to say,” I finally admitted. “This is a lot to take in.

“I know,” he said softly. “And I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. But I’m willing to work for it, for as long as it takes.”

I looked at him, the boy who had once been my tormentor, now a man asking for a second chance. The road ahead was uncertain, but as I took his hand, I realized it was a journey I was willing to embark on. Together, we would see if the past could indeed be rewritten, one honest moment at a time.