JDBehind the Marriage Proposal

After graduating from university, I was preparing to get married with my first love, whom I had been dating for three and a half years.

When both of our parents met, they promised to buy us a house and even put my name on the deed. My parents were quite pleased and willingly took on the responsibility of the car, furniture, and appliances. After all, I was my parents' only daughter.

However, when it came to discussing the financial contribution for the marriage, his family suddenly became stingy, offering only a little over ten thousand dollars, claiming they had already spent so much on the house.

My college friends, after hearing my complaints, bluntly pointed out a harsh truth. Ryland Haynes had never been generous with me, and this financial contribution issue was just his usual behavior.

It dawned on me that over the years, I had been blinded by love, ignoring many of the small details in our relationship.

Getting Ryland to spend money was like squeezing water from a stone. It turned out that I had almost been taken advantage of by the man I had loved deeply for three and a half years.

On the day I went to my fiancé's house for dinner, I accidentally overheard a conversation between him and his mother, Rita Haynes.

Rita had always been all smiles and affection towards me. But now she was scolding my fiancé behind my back, "You fool, has all that studying made you lose your common sense? Marrying a woman who's already in your grasp, and yet we have to spend so much money."

Just as I was boiling with anger, my fiancé, who always obeyed me, spoke up, "Mom, what should I do now?"

"Can't you use some tricks on Jenessa Todd?" Rita exasperated, advised him, "If you have the ability, make sure she has your child now." Then she smugly added, "At that point, whether her family can negotiate with ours and whether we let her marry into our family will depend entirely on our mood."

After hearing their secret conversation, I went to the bathroom, then returned to the living room as if nothing had happened, continuing to watch TV.

Ryland and I, beyond being university classmates, were also from the same hometown. Our destined connection was sealed when we were assigned to the same team during university training, which led us to develop a romantic relationship.

That day, under the scorching sun, I couldn't endure standing trained posture any longer. After holding on for a bit, I felt dizzy and fainted. When I woke up in the school infirmary, he was by my side, and his gentle voice sounded in my ear, "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine," I replied softly to him.

Ryland called the school doctor for me, and while waiting, he smiled and said, "You're really something. Others would tell the instructor as soon as they felt a little uncomfortable, but you managed to fall while calling for help."

I gave him an awkward smile and lowered my head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Perhaps to ease the atmosphere, he asked, "Where are you from?"

I answered, "Soscary."

"Isn't that a coincidence? So am I." He looked at me in surprise and continued to ask, "Which part of Soscary are you from?"

We exchanged more specific home addresses and realized that we had lived so close to each other for the past eighteen years without knowing it.

"Maybe we saw each other before we came to college, but at the time, you didn't know me, and I didn't know you," Ryland said with deep emotion.

I nodded heavily, silently agreeing with what he said, while a mysterious sense quietly grew in my heart. Could this be what they called destiny? Although he wasn't strikingly handsome, I still felt a sense of affection for him, his tall and sturdy figure drawing me in.

The school doctor checked on me and said I was fine to leave.

"Jenessa, would you consider treating me to dinner tonight?" Ryland said, rubbing his arm. "It was quite a workout carrying you all the way to the infirmary."

I knew my own weight quite well, so I asked him, "What do you want to eat?"

Ryland smiled at me, "Let's go. I know a restaurant near university that serves great food."

As we ate and chatted, my affection for Ryland grew. Not only did I discover how interesting he was beneath his humble exterior, but I also learned that he had won several competition awards in high school that I could only dream of, "You're amazing." I admired him, giving him a thumbs-up.

Ryland looked at me and smiled, "You're adorable."

In that moment, as I looked into his eyes, it was as if I saw stars.

After the meal, I went to pay the bill, only to find he had already settled it. I said, "Weren't we supposed to have me treat you?"

Ryland leaned back in his chair lazily and said, "It's not right for a lady to pay on the first meal with a guy." Then he raised an eyebrow, "How about you treat me next time?"

I readily agreed.

After several meals where Ryland paid and then arranged for me to treat him next time, I couldn't hold back any longer. I firmly told him, "Ryland, if we agree that I'm treating, then let me treat."

Ryland scratched his head and, with a hint of grievance, said, "Jenessa, I just want to see you a few more times."

At that moment, my heart was fluttering with excitement. That evening, as Ryland and I strolled back to university, he asked me under my dormitory building, "Jenessa, can we have meals together often in the future?"

Blushing, I nodded, and my heart was fluttering with excitement even more vigorously.

Ryland and I progressed quite well. Half a month after training ended, he sang a song for me at the welcome party, and confessed his feelings. Having no prior romantic experience, I was overwhelmed with emotion. That night, as we walked under the moonlight along the tree-lined path, we made a promise to be together.

He said, "Jenessa, I'm so lucky to have met you as soon as I started university."

I replied, "Ryland, let's take our journey one step at a time."