diff --git a/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/string/StringHelper.java b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/string/StringHelper.java
index 93ce1b684e..ad2a0b3419 100644
--- a/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/string/StringHelper.java
+++ b/core-java/src/main/java/com/baeldung/string/StringHelper.java
@@ -21,6 +21,6 @@ public class StringHelper {
     public static String removeLastCharRegexOptional(String s) {
         return Optional.ofNullable(s)
             .map(str -> str.replaceAll(".$", ""))
-            .orElse(null);
+            .orElse(s);
     }
 }