Bee Lee and I have known each other since secondary school. She knows me like no one has ever did. She knows all my sadness, joys, failures and success. On the 11th year that we know each other, I've decided to propose. I wanted it to be a surprise and to propose to her away from the bustle and hustle of city life; I wanted to propose to her in a small tropical island, walk with her in the soft sands of the beach. I have the perfect place in mind.

The Elusive Ring
The next step was to get the diamond ring. This had proved to be a daunting task. Bee Lee has never been a jewelry person and I don't know much about diamond rings (what are the four C's, what is white gold, what is platinum). I decided to get the diamond ring from the default shop of choice - Tiffany.

On one Saturday afternoon, I decided I would give Tiffany a visit. Outside the doors of Tiffany, I was very nervous. I've never been inside a jewelry shop. I didn't know what to ask or how to ask. I was pacing outside Tiffany for a good 15 minutes until I've finally puckered up enough courage to step through the heavy doors.

I found myself in front of the diamonds display. There was this suave-looking hunk standing beside me and was talking to a sales lady. Through the corner of my eye, I saw the sales lady poured out from a small pouch some loose diamonds. The guy picked up the small sparkle with a pair of tweezers and was viewing through a jeweler's loupe. They were talking about something about colour (what colour? I don't see any colour on the diamond), clarity of the diamond (it looked perfectly clear to me!) and that small stone was S$10,000. The guy didn't even flinch but I know my face was ashen white.

I found myself outside Tiffany and my back was drenched in cold sweat.

D-day was near. I wanted to propose on Christmas day but I have yet to find THE proposal ring.

On Christmas Eve, I applied for half-day leave so that I can do my last minute search of the elusive ring. I was bogged down by work and I only managed to leave at 3.00 PM and I was meeting Bee Lee at 4.30 PM. The clock was ticking.

I rushed down to Orchard Road and I just stepped into the first jewelry shop that I came by. I browsed at the range of diamond rings and there wasn't one that caught my fancy. I was crestfallen. I was disappointed and thought that I may have to propose on another day. How can I propose without a diamond ring?

Feeling dejected, I was about to walk out of the shop when a poster of a diamond ring caught my attention. That's the one! I knew instinctively that is the design Bee Lee would like. The sales person told me that they only have one ring left. I looked at the ring and it felt right. Even the size looks correct. Without hesitation, I bought it.

The Proposal
We checked into our room at the Beaufort that evening. Beaufort is simply a gorgeous place. Bee Lee was begging me to show her the Christmas gift I've gotten her. I had to lock the 'gift' in the combination safe in the room. Bee Lee was sulking when she knew I did that. I taunted her to guess the combination. She took up the challenge and was punching numbers at the keypads. To my horror, the safe was permanently locked after her 3 failed attempts. The ring was locked inside the safe! No matter how I tried, the safe just won't be opened!

I panicked and called the reception. It was a relief to hear from the receptionist it could be opened with the right combination numbers after one hour. We proceeded to have our dinner at the restaurant.

At midnight, when we were back in the room, I took out the ring from the safe and I asked her, "Will you marry me?" When she saw the ring, she was so shocked and she hid her face in the pillow, "Oh God! You are kidding, right?" I took the pillow from her face and I asked her again, "Will you marry me?" and she said, "Yes." Tears were streaming down her face.

This is the proposal ring