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“Heath! What’s going on? Why are you dressed like that?” she asked. She cocked her head to the side. “I hear music. Where is it coming from?”
He waved her inside his house. “Why don’t you come inside and find out?”
Bella shook her head and made a face. “Is this some sort of prank?” she asked, slowly walking into the house.
He walked back inside the house behind her. He heard Bella let out a gasp as she spotted the floral petals. “This is gorgeous. W-what’s it for? I-I don’t understand.”
Suddenly, the sound of “Someday my prince will come” from Cinderella filled the room. Bella’s jaw dropped. She shook her head.
“You’re Prince Charming. That’s why you’re dressed like that,” Bella said in a breathy voice.
Heath reached for Bella’s hand and he dropped down to one knee. “I hope this makes it more clear to you, Bella.” The shock etched on Bella’s face almost made him laugh out loud. If he hadn’t been so nervous, he might
have chuckled. As it was, he felt little beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. He hoped Bella couldn’t see how rattled he felt.
“We’ve been through a lot. I’ve never stopped loving you for even an instant. God willing, I want us to spend every day of our lives together, from this moment forward. I want you to be my wife, Bella. My other half. I want to lie beside you every night and wake up to your beautiful face each and every morning. I want to make a home with you and show our children that there’s nothing stronger than the love we feel for one another.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a sparkling ring. With trembling fingers, he held it up to her.
“Bella Vicente, will you marry me? I know I’ve put you through the ringer, but I hope in recent days and weeks I’ve made up for it a little bit. I hope you know how I feel about you. I’d walk through fire for you. All I want is to make a life with you and our child. Say yes, Bella. Please say yes.”
Bella was crying so hard, Heath could barely hear her answer to his heartfelt question. She began to hiccup. “I-I’m sorry to be such a sobbing mess, but I’m just so happy I can barely stand it.”
He wiped his hand across his brow. “Phew. For a second I wasn’t sure why you were crying.”
“Oh Heath, I get it. You’re dressed up like Prince Charming because I always said I wanted to be Cinderella. And the music—”
She began to cry again. “You’ve done all of this for me.”
“Bella, don’t cry. You haven’t given me an answer yet to my question. Will you?”
“Of course I will,” she yelled, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. She sniffled a few times then held out her ring finger. “Put that shiny rock on my finger.”
Heath burst out laughing and slid the emerald cut diamond on Bella’s ring finger. “It fits your finger perfectly,” he said, admiring the way his ring looked on his fiancée.
Bella couldn’t take her eyes off the ring. “Oh Heath, it’s stunning.” She swung her gaze up. “You didn’t have to dress up like Prince Charming, Heath, although it really made it all the more special. I would have said yes if you were wearing a potato sack.”
Heath chuckled. “Now you tell me. My brothers got a kick out of seeing me dressed up like a fairytale Prince. I’m not sure they’ll ever let me live it down.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up for a kiss. For a moment as their lips met they celebrated coming full circle with their love story. They had come through the fire and were on their way to a beautiful life together as husband and wife. They each knew with a deep certainty that adversity wouldn’t throw them off course.
After the kiss ended, Bella said, “It doesn’t matter what they think. My fiancé is the most romantic man on the planet. Bar none.” She swept her palm across his cheek and gazed lovingly into his eyes.
“Fiancé. That sure sounds wonderful. My fiancée.” He shook his head. He’d come so far in the last six months. He still had to continue to do the hard work on himself, but he was going to work really hard to become whole again. With Bella by his side and a newborn in their lives, Heath knew he could face all of his issues. He had the world in the palm of his hand and he wasn’t going to take it for granted for a single second.
The worst was over. And he’d learned that without Bella in his life, true happiness could never be achieved.
“I’ve wanted to marry you for the longest time. It was written on my heart way back when we were teenagers.” Heath let out a chuckle. “Teenage boys aren’t supposed to think of things like that, but I did, although I never told a single soul. My brothers would have laughed me out of the house.”
“That’s really sweet. I feel like I’ve been in love with you forever. I’ve dreamed of this moment for a long time, never imagining it would be as wonderful as this moment. You made it really beautiful for me, Heath. It’s a moment I’ll tell our children about one day.”
“Our children.” He reached out and placed his hands on Bella’s beautifully rounded stomach. “We are truly blessed. And those blessings will trickle down to our children.”
All of a sudden the sound of crashing footsteps rang out in the stillness of the room. Heath had almost forgotten his family was upstairs. Bella jumped in surprise. She pressed her hand to her throat and let out an involuntary sound.
“Oh, that scared me,” she said, eyes wide. “It sounded like a herd of elephants.”
“Sorry about that. I honestly forgot they were here. They helped me with the execution of all this,” he said, pointing toward the dining room where the table had been elegantly set.
“It’s beautiful,” Bella gushed, moving towards the entryway and reaching out for a piece of chocolate. She closed her eyes as the chocolate disappeared inside her mouth. “Mmm. It’s delicious.”
