“Look, babe! One more subscriber to 100K!” Bree told Nelson.
“You’re doing it, babe. This is great,” Nelson celebrated with his girlfriend.
She had started a YouTube channel just before they started dating. They were now celebrating their second anniversary, and Bree’s channel was almost at the 100K subscribers mark.
Bree had worked so hard to get to this point. She didn’t have the luxury of quitting her 9-5 job to focus on content creation, so she dedicated her weekends and evenings to growing her channel.
Just after she started dating Nelson, she told him her plans. The goal was to grow her channel and save up. Once she got to 100K subscribers, she would have saved up and made good financial plans to quit her job and become a full-time content creator. It would also affirm to her that she had a product that people wanted. This was a major milestone for her in many ways.
Nelson, on the other hand, already had his dream job. He was four years older than Bree. He had hoped to settle down by the time he turned 30. He decided it was time to take their relationship to the next level. He made a list of proposal ideas but couldn’t pick one. Then it came to him.
“Baby, I got an interview invitation. I’m going to be on national TV!” Bree screamed.
Now that Bree’s YouTube channel was getting much traction, a popular TV host invited her to her show. Nelson thought this would be a perfect moment for his proposal. It was grand enough, and there was no way she would say no. So, he made arrangements with the TV show crew to surprise Bree. The interview was going to happen in a week.
It was the perfect plan. Bree would already be dressed up since she would be on TV and wouldn’t suspect anything. Afterwards, Nelson planned a dinner with some of their friends and family but didn’t tell them about the proposal. He just invited them to celebrate Bree’s success.
D-day came. As planned, Nelson showed up on air with a violinist at the end of the interview and went down on one knee. The TV crew loved it because it would boost their numbers significantly. The internet went wild with people airing their views.
People flooded Bree’s social pages with congratulatory messages. Her numbers spiked as many people visited her social platforms out of curiosity. Her phone notifications went crazy as soon as Nelson proposed. It was an overwhelming moment for Bree for many reasons. She was excited and smiled through it all, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and she was afraid of exploring the reason. Much as she tried to hide it, her sister and best friend noticed.
After the TV interview, Nelson took her to meet her friends and family for dinner. They all congratulated her on her engagement and career accomplishment. She smiled and politely thanked them. Nelson was grinning through it all, explaining how he had seen a perfect opportunity once Bree told her about the TV interview. He held her hand at every chance and loved showing off her ring. Bree excused herself to use the washroom, and her sister, Wacera, followed her.
“Bree, are you okay?” Asked the sister.
“Yeah, Wacera, I am.”
“Bree, I know you. Something is bothering you, out with it.”
“I don’t know if I should be thinking this let alone speak it out loud but I feel some type of way about the proposal,” Bree said almost in whispers.
Wacera looked around the washroom to ensure nobody else was around. Once she was satisfied they were alone, she hugged her.
“What’s the problem with the proposal?” Wacera asked Bree.
“Everything sis, everything,” Bree responded in tears.
“I’m going to be honest, I was a bit surprised by the proposal because I didn’t know you were considering marriage at the moment,” Wacera told Bree.
“Exactly. I wasn’t. Nelson didn’t speak to me before proposing in front of the whole world. My passion has finally become a viable career path and this was my moment and he made the proposal the focus.”
“Do you want to get married to him?”
“Eventually, not now,” Bree replied.
“Then talk to him about how you feel,” Wacera advised Bree.
They talked a bit more and got interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Is everything okay?” Nelson asked.
“Yeah, we’re coming out.”
They all rejoined the rest of the group for the evening. They left two hours later. The ride home was filled with silence. Once they got home, Nelson broke the silence.
“I thought you’d be more excited about the proposal. You’ve been quiet the whole journey.”
“I’m overwhelmed. I need time to process this,” Bree responded.
“Process what?”
“Nelson, can we talk about this in the morning?”
“I went down on one knee on national television and this is your reaction?” Nelson asked with a look of disbelief.
“Of course, you had to make this about you. It’s always about you. Did I ask you to make a public proposal? Did you ask me if I was ready to be a wife?”
“Are you serious right now? So you don’t want to marry me?”
“I didn’t say that but we should have had that discussion before you invited the public into our affairs. If you had, you would have known I don’t like public proposals and definitely not a night that was supposed to celebrate my work.”
“I thought girls loved grand romantic gestures,” Nelson responded.
“Nelson, I told you how much content creation meant to me. You have seen the sacrifices I have had to make and it’s finally paying off, I would think you would understand what this means to me.”
“Bree, I don’t understand what that has to do with the proposal.”
“Everything, Nelson. You stole the moment and now people know me as the girl who got proposed to on TV. You have made that part of my brand. I don’t talk about private affairs on my socials and suddenly that’s the focus.”
“I don’t see the problem. Maybe you should have said no if you didn’t want to get engaged to me,” Nelson said as he walked into the bedroom.
“And get trolled for God knows how long? You were wrong to ambush me with a proposal like that!”
“Oh forgive me for wanting to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love. Many women would jump at the opportunity,” Nelson responded.
“Maybe you should propose to them,” Bree said as she threw the ring at him and left the house.
Bree stood outside for a few minutes deciding what to do next.
“Sis, I’m coming,” she told Wacera on call.
She took a cab to Wacera’s place and got there forty minutes later. Once she saw the sister, she broke down in tears. After a good cry, she could finally talk.
“What happened?” Wacera asked.
“Nelson thinks I’m being ungrateful. He doesn’t understand where I’m coming from.”
“Where is the ring?”
“I gave it back to him. Well, threw it at him.”
“Bree!” Wacera said as though scolding her.
“I know, I know. I was just so worked up. He said other women would jump at the idea of such a proposal,” Bree explained.
“He should have proposed to them instead.”
“That’s what I said,” Bree replied, and they both smiled.
“Anyway, are you really breaking the engagement?” Wacera asked her.
“I don’t know sis. I hate the position he’s put me in because I can’t just walk away. I was just beginning to build my brand and you know how they crucify women for such things. I will look like the villain. This whole situation has also revealed uncomfortable things about my relationship. Do I really want to be with someone like this? Do you think I’m being selfish and ungrateful?” Bree asked the sister.
“I think you’re justified to feel the way you do but I also understand why he would feel hurt. I would advise you to make a decision when you’ve all simmered down.”
Nelson called the following day and suggested they meet to discuss the matter. Subsequent conversations revealed they wanted different things and they couldn’t find a compromise. Bree’s fan base frequently asked about her wedding plans, and although she managed to postpone the announcement for a while, she eventually had to explain that she had broken off the engagement. The announcement elicited heated discussions as she received encouragement and trolling in equal measure.
Also, check out
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