Charles sat beside you on the plush couch in the cozy podcast studio, the glow of the overhead lights reflecting a gentle warmth onto the room. After relentless days of him urging you — practically pleading — you finally relented and joined him for this interview. And now, here you were, sitting shoulder to shoulder, your story and your shared vulnerability exposed to a stranger with a microphone and the entirety of the internet.

Carrie, the interviewer, leaned forward with a friendly, knowing smile, her eyes darting between you and Charles. “So, let me get this straight — you're engaged, right?” she asked, her tone light but curious, the question punctuating the moment with an air of inevitability.