Seven Years, A Hundred Letdowns

Synopsis

At our 100th engagement party, Carlos Herrera left me without hesitation once again. We had been together for seven years. For the previous 99 engagement attempts, he had always claimed that his childhood sweetheart, Celeste Obrien, was not yet married, and he could not betray the promise they had made. I clenched the ring in my hand and, for the first time, couldn't help asking, "If Celeste never marries for her whole life, will you stay with her forever? Then what about me? What do you take me for?" Carlos's face darkened instantly. He snatched the ring from my hand and hurled it out the window. He said, "Celeste and I made a promise when we were kids that we'd get married together. How could I leave her alone? "Besides, Isabel, do you value that piece of paper so much? We've been together for seven years. Does having that paper or not make any difference?"