When your girlfriend texts you saying she’s going to get coffee with her best friend while that same friend is sitting next to you picking out diamond rings, your world stops. I thought I knew everything about Lily after four years together, but I was wrong.
Lily and I have been together for four years. We’ve been living together for two years, and life has been great with her. Really great. She’s the kind of woman who makes ordinary days special just by being there.
Morning coffee tastes better when you’re sitting in front of me, reading the news on your phone while your hair is a mess from sleeping in.
A woman with a cup of coffee in her hand | Source: Pexels
I have always considered our relationship to be solid.
We communicate well, support each other through difficult times, and laugh a lot. Lily has a silly sense of humor that catches me off guard. She makes random voices while doing chores or creates elaborate stories for people we see at the grocery store.
It goes beyond everything, except for one area where we’ve never agreed: pets.
I’ve always wanted a pet snake. Don’t ask me why. There’s something fascinating about its silent presence.
But Lily hates snakes with a passion that borders on phobia.
A person holding a snake | Source: Pexels
“Andrew, I love you, but no way,” she told me early in our relationship. “You can have any other pet you want. A cat, a dog, or even a hamster. But snakes are completely out of the question. I’m terrified of them.”
I respected it. Relationships are about commitment, aren’t they? Besides, she does a lot for me in other ways.
He’s the kind of person who gets up early to make me lunch because he knows I’m always forgetful. He remembers my mom’s birthday better than I do. He puts up with my terrible taste in action movies and actually seems to enjoy them.
A TV remote control | Source: Pexels
That’s why I’d been thinking about proposing to her for months.
Lily is for me. She’s my person.
I’d been saving up money and rehearsing a million different ways to ask her, hoping I wouldn’t screw up when the time came.
All of that made me very nervous.
I even asked Rosie, her best friend, for help choosing the ring.
A ring in a box | Source: Pexels
Rosie and I weren’t very close. We’re friends, but we don’t go out without Lily around. Still, I trust her style, and more importantly, she’s always had Lily’s back. They’ve been friends since college, and Rosie knows Lily better than anyone, except maybe me.
***
Last Thursday started like any other day. I texted Lily around noon to let her know I’d be working late and told her to enjoy her day off. Her response wasn’t long in coming.
He wrote: “Having coffee with Rosie :)”
A woman texting her boyfriend | Source: Pexels
That was the first red flag . Because Rosie was literally standing next to me at that very moment, holding up various diamond rings under the bright lights of the jewelry store.
I looked at my phone, then at Rosie, and then back at my phone. The message didn’t make sense. Unless…
I laughed nervously.
“Are you sure she’s not seeing someone else?” I joked, trying to keep my voice light.
Rosie turned completely pale.
“Didn’t he tell you?” he asked in a low voice.
“Tell me what?”
Close-up of a man’s eyes | Source: Unsplash
He shook his head quickly and looked away. “It doesn’t matter. It’s none of my business.”
I wanted to ask her something else, but I was too shocked to say anything. Why would Lily lie to me? And what was Rosie talking about?
Warning sign number two came a few hours later, when I tried to call Lily after Rosie and I finished at the jewelry store. The phone rang and rang before reaching voicemail.
The thing is, she always answers my calls, especially when she knows I’m working late. Always. Having my call go to voicemail was something that had never happened to me before.
“Hey, babe, just wanted to check on you,” I left a message, trying to sound normal. “I hope you and Rosie had a good time at the café. Call me when you get this.”
A man talking on the phone | Source: Pexels
But he didn’t call me back. Not for hours.
Warning sign number three went off when I finally got home that night. Lily was already there, sitting on our couch as if nothing had happened. But something was definitely different.
Her hair was slightly damp, as if she’d recently showered, and her nails were freshly manicured. She had a smile on her face that seemed strange.
She looked… guilty? No, that wasn’t right. She looked nervous.
Close-up of a woman’s face | Source: Pexels
“Hi, honey. How was work? You look tired.”
“It was good,” I replied, studying his face. “How was coffee with Rosie?”
“Oh, it was great,” she said quickly. “We just talked about girl stuff, you know. Nothing exciting.”
He smiled as if nothing had happened and asked if I wanted Thai food for dinner. But I could see something behind his eyes that I couldn’t quite grasp.
I ate dinner, but I couldn’t stop thinking about his lie. My mind kept racing, creating scenarios I didn’t want to believe.
A man looking down | Source: Pexels
So I started looking for more signs, paying attention to things I might have missed before.
That night, he made a long call in our bedroom. I was watching TV in the living room when I heard his voice through the door. He spoke softly, almost whispering. I crept closer to listen.
“Don’t worry,” I heard her say. “He doesn’t know anything yet.”
My heart stopped. He hung up quickly when he heard my footsteps approaching the bedroom.
A phone on a table | Source: Pexels
“Who was it?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I walked in.
“My mother,” he said, not looking me in the eye. “She’s made a scene with my aunt again. You know how they are.”
Alarm signal number four.
Then came the really weird part. The next morning, I checked the credit card statement we shared, as I did every month, to make sure everything looked normal.
That’s when I saw the charges that made no sense.
PetCo – $57.
A supplier of special tanks I’ve never heard of – $123.
Heat Lamps for Reptiles – $48.
A man using his laptop | Source: Pexels
I stared at the screen, completely confused.
Lily didn’t like pets. She especially hated reptiles. She wouldn’t even go with me to the pet store when I wanted to see fish.
So why did I buy pet supplies? And expensive ones at that.
Alarm signal number five.
That night I couldn’t sleep.
I lay beside her, listening to her breathing, wondering who that woman really was. Four years together, and suddenly, I felt like I didn’t know her at all.
Doubt was eating me alive.
A man trying to sleep | Source: Pexels
The next morning, I woke up with a knot in my stomach.
I couldn’t concentrate at work. Every email seemed pointless, and every meeting dragged on. All I could think about was Lily, those mysterious accusations, and that phone call. I decided I’d confront her after work.
I needed the truth, whatever it was.
The drive home seemed like it had lasted hours. I mentally rehearsed what I would say. “Lily, we need to talk. I saw the charges on our card.”
Or maybe: “I know you weren’t with Rosie yesterday.”
A man holding a steering wheel | Source: Pexels
When I got home, she was waiting by the door. Her hands were trembling slightly, and she kept playing with her hair.
“Andrew,” she said before I could drop the keys. “I have… something to show you.”
My heart sank. This was it. Now was the time she’d tell me who she was really dating. Why she’d been lying and sneaking around.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Let’s talk.”
He led me through the living room, past the kitchen, to the guest room we never use. We almost always keep old boxes and Christmas decorations there.
Boxes in a room | Source: Pexels
But as we got closer, I heard a strange humming noise. Like an engine running.
“Before you say anything,” he said, stopping in front of the closed door, “remember that I love you. And this was supposed to be a surprise for your birthday next week.”
She looked terrified. More scared than I’d ever seen her, even more so than when she had to give that presentation at work last year.
“Lily, what’s wrong?” I asked.
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
A person holding a doorknob | Source: Pexels
And there, on a custom-made table in the corner, was the most beautiful glass terrarium I’d ever seen. Complete with rocks, plants, hiding places, and heat lamps.
Inside, curled peacefully under a warm light, was the most beautiful Kenyan sand boa I had ever seen.
I blinked. A lot. And then I blinked again.
Lily looked at me with pure terror in her eyes.
“Surprise?” he said weakly.
I stood there, completely speechless.
A snake | Source: Pexels
“Her name is Bowie,” Lily continued nervously. “Well, I named her that, but you can change it if you want. The breeder said she’s very gentle and perfect for beginners. Rosie helped me research everything. We’ve been planning this for weeks.”
That’s when everything clicked. The hide-and-seek. The lies. The mysterious calls and the pet store charges.
Lily wasn’t fooling me. She was trying to overcome her greatest fear to surprise me with the one thing I’d always wanted, but never thought I could have.
He handed me a tiny envelope with a little bow.
An envelope | Source: Pexels
Inside was a note that read: “Happy early birthday. Meet Bowie the Boa. P.S. – Yes, you can give him a cooler name if you want.”
All the panic, doubts, and anxiety of the last 48 hours evaporated in that instant.
And in that moment, with her standing there, next to a literal snake in a tank, I realized something important. This woman had faced her worst fear for me. This is the woman I want by my side forever.
Close-up of a woman’s eye | Source: Pexels
So I took the ring box out of my jacket pocket. Yes, I still had it from yesterday’s purchase.
I got down on one knee right there in our guest bedroom and said, “If you can love me and my snake, will you marry me?”
He blinked. Then he laughed. Then he cried.
And then he said the words I was waiting to hear.
“Yes,” she nodded, tears in her eyes. “Of course.”
And so, ladies and gentlemen, I proposed to the bravest woman I know. The one who faced her greatest fear just to make me happy.
If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to real events is purely coincidental and not the author’s intention.
The author and publisher do not guarantee the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters, and are not responsible for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Leave a Reply