Chapter 22

Lionel had started preparations to propose a week before. He secretly contacted Samantha's favorite planetarium and borrowed a professional star projection system. On the day of the proposal, he arranged for all the studio staff to leave early and transformed the sample fitting room where she worked most often into a miniature universe. "Can you come to the fitting room for a moment?" Lionel texted her while Samantha was in a meeting. When Samantha pushed open the fitting room door, the entire room was suddenly dimmed. The Milky Way flowed beneath her feet, and the stars of Orion shimmered across the walls. Lionel stood in the center of the starlight, and behind him were projections of all her designs of the years. "What's this?" Samantha covered her mouth in surprise. Lionel got down on one knee and took out a velvet box from his pocket. As he opened it, all the stars in the room seemed to focus on the ring inside. The diamond glowed softly under the blue starlight. Lionel's v