On March 30th, 2024, Nitasha moved back home after years of building her life in the city. Just one day later, a text from her childhood friend Lizna arrived that would change everything. “The guy I wanted to introduce you to a couple years ago is still single. I really think he’s your person. Are you ready?” Meanwhile, Faraaz had just returned from a trip to Alaska where his friends had staged what can only be described as an intervention, telling him he needed to start saying yes to more opportunities if he wanted to find the right one. Neither of them knew they were both finally ready at the exact same moment. On April 1st, 2024 Laylatul Qadr, the Night of Power, the holiest night of Ramadan, Lizna did what only a truly iconic matchmaker would do. No introduction. No context. She simply texted Faraaz a photo of Nitasha and three words: 29 year old optometrist, Chicago. You interested? His response? “Hey Lizna. Nice to hear from you after 4 years. Can you give me her number?” Muslims believe that prayers made on Laylatul Qadr are answered. That duas made in those sacred hours carry the weight of a thousand months. Neither Nitasha nor Faraaz knew it then but on the night the world prays for blessings, something was already being written for them. That same evening, Faraaz reached out. “Hi Nitasha! I’m Faraaz. I’m excited to connect with you.” Her reply? Asking if he was spending the holiest night of the year asking God to forgive all his sins. His answer? “Let’s just say it’s been a long night.” It was a very good sign. Nitasha was cautious. She’d been on enough dates to know that showing up fully too soon wasn’t her style, so she scheduled their first phone call like a meeting, giving him exactly 40 minutes of her time on a Saturday drive home from work. But somewhere between the voice notes she started sending and the bullet-pointed responses he’d write back to every single one, something shifted. She accidentally called him from work one day. He answered. That was it. She hadn’t even saved his name in her phone yet..she just had him listed as Virginia Boy... but at a dinner with her girlfriends, she looked up and said, “I’m going to marry this guy.” She just knew. Their first FaceTime was in May. The moment she saw his face, she thought: That’s him. That’s my person. Faraaz made the trip to Chicago in July 2024, five days that felt like the beginning of the rest of their lives. He met her family. They laughed, they explored, they fell into something real. The “official” moment came at the end of a Kevin Hart show in September, caught in the chaos of a crowd, phones half in pockets, people pushing from every direction, when Faraaz tapped her on the shoulder and said, “Hey. Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Nitasha’s internal response? I already thought I was. She said yes anyway.

If you had told Nitasha that her proposal story would involve a Walmart parking lot, nail trimming in a car, and her nearly missing the real ring because she was too busy taking a photo... she probably would have said that sounds about right. It started in Orlando. Nitasha was there for a CEO summit, and Faraaz flew in to join her for the weekend. Simple enough. What Nitasha didn’t know was that somewhere in Faraaz’s luggage was a diamond ring, and in his back pocket, a backup plan. See, a few months before the proposal, Nitasha had told Faraaz something very straightforward: “Just give me a ring pop already. I’ll say yes to a ring pop. I just want to be with you.” It was a joke. It was also completely true. She had known she wanted to marry this man within two weeks of talking to him. Faraaz remembered everything. The plan was simple: pick Nitasha up from the summit, go to dinner at Ocean Prime, propose over dessert. What he did not account for was Orlando traffic. With no time to get back to the hotel, Faraaz pulled into a Walmart parking lot, changed his clothes in the back seat of the car, trimmed his nails, then stopped at a gas station to buy ring pops. As one does before a proposal. He picked her up. They had dinner...sushi, steak, fish, the works. What made the evening truly unforgettable happened before any of it. All throughout dinner, Faraaz talked about their future. Their family. Their kids. Growing old together. Traveling the world. Building a life that was full and beautiful and theirs. He kept looking at her and saying, “You’re always gonna be happy with me, Dawg.” She believed him then. She believes him now. Faraaz excused himself to the restroom. He came back, sat down, and quietly slipped his hand into his pocket. He placed a ring pop on the table. Nitasha burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh, that’s so cute! Give it to me I need a picture. I’m telling my parents you proposed with a ring pop.” He opened the packaging for her, slid it onto her finger, and she immediately pointed her phone at it for a photo. Faraaz was trying to say something. She told him to wait. He tried again. She was still photographing the ring pop. Finally, he said: “Do you want a ring pop or would you like this?” She looked up. He was holding her diamond. Her jaw dropped. Faraaz came around to her, looked her in the eyes, and said: “You are the greatest gift I have ever received. Will you marry me?”Nitasha’s response was immediate: “I’m going to throw up.” He took it as a yes. The restaurant celebrated with them. And for the rest of the evening, Nitasha FaceTimed every single person she had ever met, while Faraaz sat contentedly beside her, playing Elevate on his phone, just happy watching her be happy. They spent the rest of the weekend at Disney World, where Nitasha, who had been firmly against the idea, discovered it was actually one of her favorite places. They had dinner at Cinderella’s Castle on Friday night. She wore bridal Minnie Mouse ears. They both wore Happily Ever After pins. She felt like a princess. She was with her prince charming. And she was so, so ready.