Chapter 167 The Day Has Finally Arrived

Chapter 167 The Day Has Finally Arrived

Stephanie's POV

At some point, the area outside the auditorium had been transformed. Warm white string lights hung along both sides of the steps, stretching all the way from the entrance to the center of the plaza.

At the far end of the lights, a small string ensemble stood waiting in the middle of the square.

The lead violinist spotted me and gave a slight nod before raising his bow to draw out the first note.

It was a piece I knew incredibly well.

The first time I'd heard it, I hadn't known its name.

I only remembered that afternoon, walking along the tree-lined path on campus, when I'd heard this melody.

When I'd looked up that day, I'd seen Christopher's car parked by the school gate, him leaning against it, quietly watching me.

Back then, we weren't together yet.

Suddenly, I had a premonition. My heart started racing.

People filing out of the venue were drawn to the scene unfolding before them, naturally forming a circle around us.

Emily whispered excitedly beside me, "What kind of fairy-tale romance is this?"

The next second, Christopher emerged from the side of the ensemble.

He'd changed into a light gray suit jacket at some point. Walking through the warm white glow, he came toward me step by step.

I stood frozen, my eyes stinging inexplicably.

So many words had been building up inside me, but when they reached my lips, all I could ask was, "What's this piece called?"

"'Homeward Steps,'" he answered softly. "The first time you heard it at school, you said it sounded like someone slowly walking home."

He lowered his gaze, reaching into his jacket's inner pocket to pull out a small navy-blue box, then slowly dropped to one knee.

"Stephanie."

He opened the box. A diamond ring lay quietly inside.

The clear stone refracted the warm light, making my eyes instantly well up with tears.

He looked up at me, his tone both serious and tender. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh my God! It's really a proposal!" Emily shrieked in excitement. "No wonder Christopher suddenly disappeared earlier! When did he even set all this up?!"

Cheers erupted around us. Someone shouted, "Say yes! Say yes!"

A few sentimental women teared up, murmuring, "This is so romantic. If someone proposed to me like this, I'd be satisfied for the rest of my life."

Emily quickly nudged my stunned self. "Stephanie! Come on! Look—Christopher's hands and legs are shaking from kneeling!"

I looked down and realized Christopher really was trembling slightly.

We'd already committed to each other long ago, agreed we'd be together forever, and yet in this moment, he was still nervous.

I even noticed his eyes were rimmed with red.

So it was true—when you're genuinely asking the person you love to marry you, you can't help but tear up.

Without a moment's hesitation, I nodded through my tears, smiling hard. "Yes. I will."

He immediately stood, his hands shaking as he took out the ring and gently slipped it onto my ring finger.

Then he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Stephanie, I'm so happy." He looked at me, his eyes full of sincerity. "I've never been happier than I am today."

I lightly bumped his chest, a hint of mock reproach in my voice. "What's that supposed to mean? You won't be happy on our wedding day?"

"No!" He shook his head earnestly right away, laughing a little foolishly. "I mean, today is the happiest day of my life so far. Every day after this, I'll be even happier than I am today."

He didn't use flowery words or deliberately sentimental promises.

But that one sentence alone filled my entire heart.

Yes. This was the man I was going to spend my life with.

"Yay!" Emily's shout suddenly exploded, instantly breaking the tender atmosphere between us.

I turned to see her rushing over with her phone, circling us several times while constantly changing angles to take photos.

"Don't move, don't move! This lighting is perfect! You two are so perfect together!"

Her antics made me laugh, and the tears at the corners of my eyes quietly dried.

After finishing the photos, she scrolled through her album, nodding in satisfaction, then bumped her shoulder against Rufus standing beside her.

"Rufus, look at them!"

Rufus looked at her with a smile, his tone especially serious. "I know. Don't worry."

Emily froze. "What do you mean?"

Rufus didn't explain. He raised his hand to tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Once I'm ready, I'll propose to you right away."

Emily's face instantly turned bright red. She stammered awkwardly, "I—I never said I'd marry you!"

Rufus winked at her, his smile gentle yet certain, like he'd already made up his mind about her.

Emily, blushing furiously, quickly walked over to me and hooked her arm through mine.

I glanced at her and noticed her eyes were also red-rimmed.

This time, Emily had truly found her own love.

May we all, for the rest of our lives, no longer drift—may we each have our own safe harbor.

The crowd gradually dispersed. Emily pulled Christopher and me back under the string lights to take several more photos together.

At some point, the music had stopped. The ensemble members were quietly packing up their instruments and music stands.

I looked down at the ring on my ring finger, still feeling like it was all a dream.

Oh my God. I was really getting married.

This felt completely different from when we'd casually discussed marriage before.

Back then, marriage had felt more like a future plan—something I knew would happen, but never felt truly real.

But now, everything was laid out right in front of me, tangible and real.

Truth be told, every woman feels some anxiety facing marriage.

You can't help but overthink—will this person really stay with me forever? Will he always love me? What if he stops loving me someday, falls for someone else, leaves me?

But when the proposal actually happened, I didn't have a single doubt or worry.

Because Christopher had given me more than enough security.

From the day I decided he was the one, I'd already prepared myself to spend my entire life with him.

I was destined to marry Christopher.

We would hold hands and keep walking forward together, all the way to the end of our lives.

Christopher stood beside me the whole time, smiling at me tenderly.

After a while, he suddenly leaned down and whispered something in my ear.