Chapter 1 - The Question That Changed Everything
The first thing Ada noticed that morning was that Tobi was late.
Not five-minutes late.
Not "traffic was terrible" late.
An entire hour late.
She checked her wristwatch for what felt like the fiftieth time, then folded her arms dramatically as she stood outside the little café where they had agreed to meet.
"If he thinks one smile is going to save him today," she muttered, "he has another thing coming."
An elderly woman sitting nearby chuckled.
"My dear," she said, "is your boyfriend in trouble already?"
Ada sighed with exaggerated disappointment.
"He doesn't know it yet, but yes."
The woman laughed.
"I'll pray for him."
"So will I."
Just then, a familiar voice called from across the street.
"Ada!"
She turned.
There he was.
Hair slightly messy.
White shirt untucked on one side.
Running as though the world championship for apologizing had just begun.
"I'm sorry!" he shouted before he even reached her.
She didn't move.
Didn't smile.
Didn't blink.
He stopped in front of her, bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"I can explain."
"I'm listening."
"My alarm..."
"No."
"...didn't ring."
"No."
"The bus broke down?"
"No."
"A goat chased me?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"A goat?"
"It was a very determined goat."
She stared at him for three long seconds before bursting into laughter.
"You rehearsed that excuse, didn't you?"
"I had an hour."
She tried to stay angry.
She really did.
But Tobi had an annoying talent for making her laugh at exactly the wrong moment.
"You owe me breakfast."
"I'll buy you breakfast."
"And lunch."
"Done."
"Dessert."
He placed a hand over his heart.
"You drive a hard bargain."
She smiled.
"Good."
They walked into the café together, the staff greeting them like old friends.
"You two again?" the cashier teased.
"We like your food," Tobi replied.
Ada shook her head.
"No. He likes your food. I like the free air conditioning."
The cashier laughed.
"You two are impossible."
"So we've been told," Ada answered.
They ordered far more food than either of them could finish.
As usual.
Halfway through breakfast, Tobi reached across the table and stole a piece of chicken from Ada's plate.
She gasped dramatically.
"You thief!"
"It's called sharing."
"It is not sharing if I didn't agree."
"You looked like you were full."
"I was emotionally attached to that chicken."
He laughed so hard he almost dropped his fork.
The couple at the next table couldn't help smiling at them.
Watching Ada and Tobi together was like watching sunshine argue with the wind.
They teased.
They laughed.
They disagreed over the smallest things.
Yet somehow, they always found their way back to smiling.
"You know," Ada said after a while, "my mother asked about you yesterday."
Tobi froze for half a second.
"Should I be worried?"
"She asked when you're coming to visit again."
"Oh."
"And then she asked another question."
He narrowed his eyes.
"What question?"
Ada took another sip of her drink before answering.
"She asked whether you plan to keep dating me until we're eighty."
He almost choked on his juice.
"That's not funny."
"I thought it was."
"My heart nearly left my body."
She grinned.
"Good."
He looked at her for a long moment.
"You know... your family isn't the only one asking questions."
"Oh?"
"My aunt has already picked names for our imaginary children."
Ada laughed so loudly that several people turned to look at them.
"Imaginary children?"
"Three boys."
"Only three?"
"She wanted six."
Ada covered her face.
"I haven't even agreed to marry you."
He smiled.
"I know."
Neither of them noticed how quietly those words settled between them.
For a brief moment, the laughter faded.
Not because anything was wrong.
But because, beneath all the jokes, there was something real.
Something steady.
Something that had quietly grown through years of friendship, long conversations, silly arguments, surprise visits, shared dreams, and promises they hadn't even realized they were making.
Tobi looked at his watch.
"We should go."
"Where?"
"It's a surprise."
Ada immediately became suspicious.
"I don't trust surprises."
"You don't trust anything."
"I trusted you once."
"You still do."
She rolled her eyes.
"Barely."
He paid the bill before she could argue, then led her outside.
"Close your eyes."
"No."
"Please."
"No."
"I'll buy you ice cream."
She considered it.
"...What flavour?"
He laughed.
"So that's your price?"
"It depends on the flavour."
After a full minute of negotiating, she finally covered her eyes.
"If I fall because of you, I'll haunt you."
"You can't haunt me if you're alive."
"I'll find a way."
He carefully guided her forward.
Step by step.
"Don't peek."
"I'm peeking."
"I knew it."
Finally, they stopped.
"You can open them now."
Ada slowly lowered her hands.
They were standing in the small botanical garden where they had gone on their very first date.
Nothing extravagant.
Nothing flashy.
Just flowers swaying gently in the afternoon breeze, birds singing somewhere in the distance, and memories waiting quietly in every corner.
She smiled.
"You remembered."
"I remember everything."
Her expression softened.
"You really do."
Before she could say another word, Tobi took a slow breath.
Then another.
His confidence—the one that had survived angry goats, stolen chicken, and Ada's endless teasing—vanished.
His hands trembled.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Ada frowned.
"Tobi?"
He reached into his pocket.
"Oh no..."
She blinked.
"Oh yes."
He laughed nervously.
"I had a speech."
"You wrote a speech?"
"It was a very good speech."
"What happened to it?"
"I forgot every single word."
She smiled so gently that it almost gave him courage.
"Then don't give the speech."
He nodded.
Instead, he got down on one knee.
The world seemed to pause.
The breeze.
The birds.
Even Ada's breathing.
He looked up at the woman who had become his safest place.
The woman who could turn an ordinary breakfast into an unforgettable adventure.
The woman he wanted beside him for every sunrise and every ridiculous argument about stolen chicken.
His voice was quiet.
But certain.
"Ada..."
He opened the small velvet box.
Inside, a ring caught the afternoon sunlight.
"I may have forgotten my speech..."
A smile escaped both of them.
"...but I'll never forget how much I love you."
He took one steady breath.
"Will you marry me?"
