First, I went to the church, carrying a quiet prayer in my heart.
Before the altar, I asked God for strength —
the courage to kneel before the woman I love
and promise her forever in the year 2024.

My first dream was to propose in Hong Kong,
under the lights of a foreign city,
but my heart whispered a truth:
before asking for her hand,
I must first honor the hands that raised her.

So in December 2024,
I stayed inside their home,
waiting for morning like a sunrise of destiny.
I spoke to her mother, then to her father —
with respect, with honesty,
carrying all the lessons of my past.

They accepted me,
but their eyes asked for a promise —
that their daughter would never feel pain from the past.
And there, with humility and love,
I vowed that my past would never return,
that my heart, my mind, even my soul
belong only to my future wife — Johnna.

With their blessing,
I returned to Sto. Niño Church with her beside me,
and in front of the altar where my prayer began,
I knelt — not just on my knees,
but with every piece of who I am.

I spoke my promises like sacred words,
and with the whole church as witness,
I looked into her eyes and said,
“I love you.”