Our story began when this shy and unannounced girl from New Jersey joined my daily lunch Zoom calls for work during Covid. I met Sohini in person for the first time when she visited Charlotte in November of 2021. I invited her and another coworker of ours to a small get-together I was having with some friends. When she walked into my home.... my breath was taken away. She was so much more inviting and friendly in person and still, she seemed mysterious to me but most of all, she was just so beautiful. There was something about this girl and from that day forward, I always kept just a little more of an eye out for her to see what she was like as I so desperately wanted to get to know her. She had such a warm spirit and we liked a lot of the same music and activities. I loved the way she did her hair, the way she walked, the way she talked, and most of all she had a wonderful and fun personality. I didn't know what kind of impression I left on her in that short visit she made to Charlotte, but I did know that I wanted it to be worth noting. Sohini moved to Charlotte in January of 2022 and from there, things picked up quickly. I liked inviting her to things that I had going on with my friends and some of our coworkers since she was new to the area, and I enjoyed showing her around. She conveniently moved only 5 minutes away from me so I took every opportunity I could to pick her up before going to social events or hanging out with other people. After just 1-2 months, Sohini and I were seeing each other almost daily since we worked together and were in the same friend group. There was a 1-week span where Sohini would act so strange whenever we would go anywhere together and it just seemed like she had something to say to me but just wouldn't let it out. We can all guess now what it is that she wanted to say, but at that time, I was the most oblivious person to anything that had to do with romance. There was one specific night, in the Union in Charlotte, where I bought Sohini a drink, as usual, in my attempt to try to get her to give me the extra attention I wanted from her. I think Sohini literally and metaphorically slapped some sense into me that night as I was very much oblivious to the fact that she had been trying to give me the hint that she didn’t want to just be my friend. I went home that night with the biggest smile on my face because I just knew that this enthusiastic and bright girl could someday be my forever best friend and soulmate. 3 days later, Sohini texted me one morning and asked me if I would like to grab coffee with her. I knew exactly what this meeting was going to be and I still panicked like my life was in jeopardy. I talked to my roommate Jakob about it multiple times as I wasn't sure what I was going to say since we were coworkers and I didn't want to put my job at risk if things didn't work out. I met with her at Not Just Coffee in Dilworth where she ultimately told me she had feelings for me to which I responded that.... I didn't feel the same. I was absolutely lying as I wanted nothing more than to jump across the table and kiss her right then and there but the thought of us being coworkers was still stuck in my mind. I went home after our meeting and didn't think about anything else for hours until early the next morning I asked her on a date to Barcelona Wine Bar where that not-so-quiet girl and I talked all night long and began the rest of our story.

Our story began on one Friday night in November in Charlotte, NC. I was so nervous to meet everyone from work in this brand-new city until TJ walked into the room. A loud, charming, and cute guy stood there greeting everyone when he made his way over to me. I pretended like I didn’t see him walking towards me, but internally I was freaking out. We introduced ourselves for the first time in person and he offered to take me and a couple of other people around Queen City that weekend. It was so much fun that I was able to start envisioning what life would be like in this new place. I went back home to NJ shortly after and gushingly told my family that I knew TJ was going to be my best friend. After officially moving to CLT in January of 2022, I was not nervous anymore because I knew I already had a group of people I could rely on. I could not stop thinking about how much I just wanted to explore this new city, especially with him. Every day was a new adventure. We tried restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, and hiking trails, and he never failed to make me laugh or smile. He always has some funny story, a weird fact, or some random history reference to keep me intrigued. On top of that, he had such a calming aura to him that kept me wanting to gravitate towards him. When I am with him, everything feels possible. It wasn’t long until I realized that our friendship could turn into something so much more. I mustered up the courage to tell him how I really felt, and although that did not go as planned, a mere 30 hours later he asked me out on a date. We went to Barcelona Wine Bar and the conversation endlessly flowed. We jumped from one topic to another hoping our waitress wouldn't bring the check to signal the end of the date. I hadn’t told him this then, but I knew he was the one. As soon as we went on our first date, we were already acting like a couple, as if we knew it was inevitable. He asked me to officially be his girlfriend on April 1st. You heard that right, April Fools’ Day. I hesitated before answering because I was like, “Is this a joke?”. But seeing how his eyes lit up when he asked me, I knew that he had no idea what day it even was. The very next day he took me on the most extravagant date ever at the Biltmore Mansion. He was setting the bar up so high that I thought to myself, “Is this what every date is going to be like…?”. However, I think he shortly realized that I didn’t need a mansion or a castle because every moment we spent together, no matter what we were doing, he made me feel like a princess. Fast forward to two years later, we went to celebrate our 2nd anniversary in Japan. Under the beautiful cherry blossoms in Kyoto, he asked me to marry him. There has never in my life been an easier yes to be said. Everything happens for a reason and I thank god every day that we were able to find each other.