A boxing ring in our backyard

A week had passed. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. I had counted them all because, somehow, every minute felt like a step closer to either the best moment of my life or the most embarrassing disaster known to mankind.

Tomorrow, I was going to propose to Elena.

I had planned it down to the last detail. Dinner at night, roses, lanterns, and a beautiful speech—perfect.

I had picked the location carefully, made sure everything was set, even triple-checked the weather forecast just in case Mother Nature decided to be a petty little gremlin and rain on my moment.

The ring? Safely hidden. The words? Rehearsed at least a thousand times in front of my mirror. The nerves? Absolutely ruining me.

I had spent the last week perfecting every detail, but there was one tiny, insignificant, catastrophic problem—I actually had to tell Elena we were going somewhere tomorrow.