Proposal No. 18: Still Lost to Her Childhood Sweetheart

When I propose to Hailey Morgan for the 18th time, she turns me down for the sake of her childhood friend, Eric Dawson, once again.

We've been dating for eight years. So far, I've proposed 18 times to her.

But whenever the proposal takes place, Hailey keeps saying that Eric is depressed, so she can't leave his side.

As I look at the ring, I can't resist asking, "If Eric is depressed for the rest of his life, does this mean you won't marry me in this lifetime?"

Hailey gets mad at me right away. She snatches the ring before throwing it at the floor.

"He's my childhood sweetheart! I can't just ditch him, can I? Besides, you've already endured my rejection 17 times! Can't you just keep enduring it for my sake?"

"Say yes! Say yes!"

I kneeled in the middle of the crowd, awaiting a response, as my friends' excited shouts drowned out the square.

"Enough. You're so annoying."

Hailey Morgan, the woman I was proposing to, snatched the flowers from the ground and hurled them hard at me.

Her expression was vicious as she exclaimed, "You're so selfish! What else do you know besides pressuring me into marriage? I've told you so many times that I can't get married right now."

She couldn't get married, or she didn't want to?

My throat felt constricted, and I was so upset that I couldn't speak.

This wasn't my first time in this situation, but it was the most humiliating.

We had been in love for eight years, and I had proposed 18 times but was rejected every single time.

My reputation preceded me to a comical degree at this point. Who else but me could turn a marriage proposal into a full-blown quest?

After taking a while to calm myself down, I lifted the ring with a cautious and pleading expression.

"Hailey, stop joking. All our friends and relatives are here. Just put the ring on," I said.

Even if it was only for the sake of everyone's effort, I wished she'd set aside her pride and stop refusing me.

But this was exactly what Hailey wanted. She slapped me hard, and her glare was sharp enough to silence the room.

"Stop joking? You're the biggest joke here! Don't you think this is gross? You're really trying to guilt‑trip me. Don't you know Eric has depression? Are you trying to drive him to his death by forcing a marriage on me?"

Guilt-trip her? If anything, she was the one guilt-tripping me.

She could have said she didn't like me anymore, or that she didn't love me, or that a life with me wouldn't work out.

But no, her reason for rejecting me was another man—Eric Dawson, her childhood sweetheart.

So, just because he had depression, she couldn't let him go. But what about me? Was I just supposed to accept that my girlfriend was hung up on another man?

I gritted my teeth, feeling anger coil in my chest.