Before he could say anything, I stood up and grabbed his tie, fiddling with it as hope flickered in my eyes.
“Derick, didn’t you say we’d get married as soon as I graduated?”
Immediately, his expression darkened slightly, but his voice remained calm.
“Skye, just wait a little longer. The company is at a critical stage of financing right now. I can’t focus on marriage.”
He also added, “Besides, rushing things wouldn’t be fair to you. Let’s wait three more years. When the company goes public, I’ll give you a grand proposal.”
The same excuse—for the third time.
When I was finishing my undergraduate degree, he told me to wait until graduation. But when I completed my master’s, he said the same. Now, with only three days left before I earned my doctorate, he was asking for three more years.
But this time, I couldn’t bring myself to wait any longer.
Derick watched me grow up. He was five years older than me and was one of my brother’s best friends.
The first time I met him, I was in high school, crying over a physics problem I couldn’t solve. Back then, he crouched down, gently wiped my tears, and patiently explained the problem to me.