Mom, welcome. Come in,” Brittany told her mother, who entered her home with her younger sister, Carla. She had invited them over for dinner at her house, which she shared with her boyfriend, Lewis.

Brittany and Lewis had been together for five years and moved in after only six months of dating. It was the perfect relationship except for one thing: he hadn’t proposed yet. While Brittany was not in any hurry to get married, she wondered if Lewis ever thought about it.

They told everyone that they didn’t need a wedding or some paper to prove their love. They already lived like husband and wife. That was enough for her. At least, that’s what Brittany told herself often.

In all honesty, she dreamed of wearing a white dress and walking down the aisle to him. She wanted them to form a family. But she didn’t like the idea of pressuring him at all.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Her scream made everyone turn, including Lewis, who had stopped hugging Carla.

Brittany’s mother had been nagging her to get married, so she suggested this dinner to appease her for a while. Maybe she would see how great their relationship was, even without a wedding.

Lewis was cooking and started chatting with Carla, but her mother wouldn’t change her frowning expression. They sat down to eat, finished, and Brittany started clearing up. At one point, Lewis and her mother disappeared while Carla was on the porch on her phone.

Brittany didn’t want her mother to pressure Lewis, so she went to find them. They were in their bedroom. Her mother must have asked him for a private word. She couldn’t help but eavesdrop for a while.

“When are you getting married?” she overheard her mother asking.

“In time. When we’re ready,” Lewis answered.

“That’s not enough. You’re getting all the benefits of a wife without putting a ring on her finger. What about children?” her mother pushed, and Brittany flinched from her hidden spot outside the door.

“I want kids, Mrs. Madsen. But I don’t think Brittany is ready for that,” Lewis replied, and Brittany stopped breathing. She heard Carla returning and rushed to the kitchen to continue cleaning the dishes.

But she was almost dying of emotions inside. Did Lewis believe she was not ready or didn’t want kids of her own? Is that why he didn’t want to marry her? The idea of that almost broke her heart, but she tried to hold her tears while washing.

After a few minutes, Lewis and her mother came out again, and it seemed like her mother was in good spirits. She wondered what they discussed after she left and decided it was probably better not to know.

***

Carla decided to stay with them for a while. She took the guest bedroom, and Brittany didn’t think twice about it. She had stayed with them before.

But then Carla noticed that Lewis was in the guest room with her a lot. They laughed about something, and she didn’t want to eavesdrop on them, so she left them alone.

The following day, they went out together for a coffee after work, and they hadn’t told her anything. “That’s fine,” she told herself again, but it wasn’t.

Since she overheard the conversation between Lewis and her mother, she thought he might be pulling away. She had a gut feeling that something was happening but couldn’t put her finger on it.

Their outings after work to a cafe continued, and Brittany started getting jealous of their connection.

On the fifth day of Carla’s stay, she decided to follow her. They always went to the local Starbucks in their neighborhood in Maryland, and Brittany knew the way perfectly. She stayed outside and peeked into the store, staying far away from the door so that no one would notice her being weird.

When Lewis arrived, they greeted each other, then they started laughing for some reason. What was so funny? she wondered cattily.

Suddenly, Lewis reached into his pocket, retrieving a box. It was that special box that every girl dreams of getting one day. What’s going on? she thought to herself in shock. Why did he have that box? Why was he giving it to Carla? Did he lie to her? Were they cheating on her? Was Carla the girl he truly wanted to marry?

So many questions ran through her mind as she watched Carla smiling at the box and jumping out of her seat to hug Lewis.

“Oh, that’s it!” she said aloud and finally entered the store. Although it was more like she stomped there. “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

Her scream made everyone turn, including Lewis, who had stopped hugging Carla. He looked panicked and reached for the box as if to hide it.

“Why are you trying to hide that from me? What is happening here? Are you cheating on me with my own sister? WHAT IS GOING ON?” Brittany shouted, tears falling from her eyes. She didn’t care that everyone in the shop was staring or that Carla was trying to get her to calm down.

Lewis looked around and then stared at her seriously. Suddenly, he was down on one knee. “Brittany, this isn’t how I wanted to do this, but will you marry me?” he asked with an earnest look on his face.

WHAT? Brittany thought quietly but in astonishment. She stared at Carla, who was smiling and nodding at her. Did she get this situation entirely wrong? Were they planning to surprise her at some point?

“Yes,” she whispered after a few seconds of stunned silence, and the store broke out in applause. Brittany hugged Lewis when he stood up, but she was still shocked. “I think I need to sit down.”

They offered her coffee, and Carla started to explain what was happening. “Lewis invited me to stay at your house because he wanted help finding a ring. That’s what we’ve been doing all these days, and we were also trying to plan the proposal before I had to go.”

“I can’t believe this. Thank you so much for helping him, Carla,” Brittany said, holding her hand on the table. She looked at Lewis. “I’m so sorry for my outburst. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“A few days ago, when your mother came, she implied that you might not want children with me because I haven’t asked you to marry me. So I decided to do it as soon as possible,” Lewis explained, and Brittany could almost kick herself for letting her paranoia get the best of her. She should’ve listened to the entire conversation between Lewis and her mother and not left halfway through.

“That’s so amazing. I love you so much, honey,” she told him, and they kissed lightly in front of a smiling Carla, who became the maid of honor at their wedding four months later.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never suspect your loved ones without reason. Brittany started believing the worst of Carla and Lewis until she discovered the entire truth.
• Have faith in your partner. Lewis just needed some time to pop the question, and Brittany’s mother’s words pushed him to do it. But Brittany should’ve believed in him all along.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a bride who disappeared from her wedding, and the groom saw her years later.

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