We met at work in 2018. I was very shy around him at first — the kind of quiet that keeps you watching from across the room, smiling inwardly but not daring to speak. Still, fate (and a little courage) nudged us together, and one day we finally started talking. Conversation revealed something warm and different between us: a comfortable closeness that felt like the beginning of something special. For two years friends on both sides teased, advised, and gently pushed us toward one another. Their encouragement — and maybe fate again — gave me the courage to take the first real step. On 3 September 2020, after I told him I loved him, he invited me to lunch. It felt like a promise. Unfortunately, pressures and practical constraints pulled us apart after that, and things didn’t work out as we’d hoped. We didn’t give up. On 31 December 2020 we decided to try again — to patch things up and start anew. That evening, under the hush and sparkle of New Year’s anticipation, we shared our first kiss. It was everything it needed to be: soft, true, and the start of a new chapter. Since then, I’ve been living what feels like a perfect life with him — small daily joys, shared dreams, and the quiet comfort of being together. We’re still writing our story, and there’s so much more to come.