Page 279 of The Wright Man

"Oh my God..."

A small, elegant gazebo stood in the center of the lot, bathed in fairy lights and surrounded by freshly planted sunflowers—my favorite. Little solar lanterns dotted the nearby trees like fireflies. "Angel of Mine" by Monica played somewhere in the background, soft and haunting, wrapping around me like the memory of a slow dance.

I took a shaky breath. The air smelled like damp earth, blooming petals, and the kind of reverence that made your eyes sting.

"Maleek," I whispered, stepping forward like the structure might vanish if I moved too fast. "This is beautiful. What... what is this?"

He didn't move. Just watched me take it all in.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked, voice low and rough.

I turned in a slow circle, blinking. Looking. Feeling.

The edges of the memory clicked into place like puzzle pieces finding their home. The shape of the trees. The slant of the land. The way the wind moved through this very spot like it remembered something.

Then I saw it—the slight dip in the ground where the old jungle gym and swing set used to be.

My eyes widened. My hand flew to my mouth.

"This is..." I breathed. "This is where we had our first kiss."

Maleek nodded, stepping closer.

"The swing set was right there," he said, pointing to the patch of ground just a few feet away. "I thought about fixing it, but..." He shrugged, smiling softly. "We're not those kids anymore. We grew. We built something new. Figured I'd do the same."

I was crying before he finished the sentence.

He stepped forward and took both of my hands in his. His eyes were glistening too, but his voice—his voice held steady with all the love I'd ever dreamed of.

He looked me dead in the eyes, his voice thick but sure.

"You called me your best friend when I forgot how to smile," he said. "You made me feel safe. Seen. Loved. Even when I didn't know how to love myself."

"And after everything... you're still the best part of every day."

He paused, emotion catching in his throat, but he didn't look away. Not once.

"You've always been my home, Angel. Even when I didn't know how to say it."

My knees nearly gave out... And then he dropped to one of his.

Everything in me froze. My breath caught. My heart tripped over itself.

He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and opened it—and the world just... stopped.

Inside was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen.

A delicate sunflower of diamonds, radiating from a golden band like it had been made just for me. Like it knew who I was. Like it had been waiting for this moment right alongside us.

Maleek looked up at me, eyes shining. Steady. Certain.

"Angel," he said, voice cracking with the weight of it, "will you marry m—"

"Yes."

I didn't let him finish.

"Yes," I gasped, already falling to my knees with him before I could think. "Yes. Yes. Yes. I’ll marry you."