She laughed through tears.
What He Did Next
Rehabilitation was brutal.
Frustration shadowed him daily.
One Saturday, after weeks of therapy, Ryan stood using a cane for the first time.
He stared at it, jaw tight.
“I hate this,” he muttered.
Marina rolled closer. “I hated mine too.”
He looked at her differently then — not with sympathy, but with shared understanding.
That afternoon, in front of Theo, Ryan did something she never expected.
He set the cane aside.
Walked carefully behind her chair.
And pushed her down the driveway.
Then he stepped in front of her.
Lowered himself slowly to one knee.
Pulled out a small ring box.
“Sorry,” he said gently. “I walk with a cane now.”
Tears blurred her vision.
“But if you’ve got wheels,” he continued, voice unsteady, “and I’ve got this… I think together we balance out.”
Theo gasped loudly.
Ryan opened the box.
“I don’t want perfect,” he said. “I want real. I want the complicated mornings and therapy appointments and spilled paint and school concerts. I want all of it. With you.”
He looked at her the way he had the first night — steady, certain.
“Marry me, Marina.”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”