"Hey Toronto! I hope you are having a good night so far. This next song, I wrote with a good friend of mine. The incredibly talented Ed. But before that I have a little favor to ask of you tonight. Is that okay?" Shawn spoke into the mic as he talked to an arena of 50,000 people.
The crowd cheered loudly in approval to his request.
"So, I know that you guys know that this is usually the point in the show where I embarrass some of you guys out there to kiss the girl you're with tonight." He laughed, as did the crowd.
The audience waited patiently on what he's about to say next. He was breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through him, and he was unbelievably nervous. "Sorry. Give me a sec, guys, my heart is racing." He said softly. He took a deep breath and continued. "What I'm saying is: I'm just going to ask you guys to be patient. You can kiss your dates later in the song!" He joked. "But would it be okay if I called on my girls on stage? Crystal? Mel? I know you told me a long time ago to never ask to bring you on stage but it's important." He looked around the crowd, trying to ignore his heart that is literally about to leap out of his chest.
Unlike Crystal and Mel, his team seemed to know about this. The team knew exactly where to find Crystal and Mel as if they were just waiting for his cue. They ushered them up the stage. Shawn's team and the band were smiling brightly when Crystal stepped on stage holding Mel's hand.
The crowd cheered for the both of them, making Mel shyly hide behind her mother but had a smile on her mouth. Shawn smiled adoringly at his family. He handed someone his guitar before he gave Crystal a kiss on the forehead. When he did so, Crystal whispered to him: "What's going on, love?"
Shawn didn't respond but gave her a knowing smile and bent down to kiss the top of his daughter's head.
"You having fun so far, baby?" Shawn asked his daughter while he was crouching down in front of her.
Mel, still shy, only nodded at her father.
"I'm sorry Daddy has to be gone a lot. He goes to different places and does this for work." Shawn's eyes was already glossing up as he looked at his "mini me". Mel smiled at her father.
Shawn looked up at Crystal while he still crouched in front of his daughter.
"Crystal? You're a super woman. Thank you for always being there for Mel." The crowd 'awww'ed. He took another deep breath, closing his eyes in hopes to calm his heart but to no avail.
"I don't think you guys have any idea how nervous I am right now." Shawn said in a whisper but through the mic.
"Crystal Paige, you are my best friend. You are the love of my life. You are my person, my soulmate. I'm sorry I've been gone a lot. But, you've raised Mel into a kind and wonderful kid— she is everything I could ask for for a daughter. She looks like me but her heart is like yours." He gripped her hand, took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm also very sorry this took a while."
His hands were shaking a little from the nerves until he reached for Crystal's hand. Without losing eye contact with a confused Crystal, Shawn slowly knelt on one knee.
The crowd erupted with different reactions. Tears have escaped Shawn's eyes. Crystal's heart felt like it skipped a beat before beating a hundred miles a minute.
"This is going to sound very prideful of me but I made a promise to myself. I promised myself that when I ask the love of my life to marry me, I want to be ready. I want to have a home where our kids can grow up. Give my future wife her dream wedding and honeymoon.
"I want you to know, I've been thinking about this day with you for years now. And I've also been saving up for our dream house since then, that's why it took a while. Well, our little angel came a little too early than I anticipated so I wasn't quite ready. I hope you forgive me for that. Babe, that dream house you told me about? It's finally ready. Now that everyone important to both of us is here in this stadium, all I have left to do is ask you."
Tears have escaped both their eyes and some people in the audience—especially Karen, Catrina, and Aaliyah.
Crystal waited forever for this. He didn't know he was saving up for a house.
Shawn reached in his pocket and pulled out a velvet box from his pocket. He held it out in front of Crystal. He opened it and finally asked: "Crystal Paige, will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?"
The pretty ring twinkled under the bright spotlight. The giant rose that Shawn used as props for the show was glowing a bright red, so were the wristbands that each of the audience wore. The stadium looked beautiful. The bright red colors reminded Shawn of the red roses on Crystal's dress when they first met in the Met Gala.
Crystal opened her mouth to respond but Mel who beamed at the sight of the pretty diamond ring spoke first. Her little 2-and-a-half-year old self thought that the present was for her. "Dad?" Mel's small voice cut off Crystal's response.
Instead of growing impatient for cutting off Crystal's answer, Shawn turned to his daughter and laughed. The crowd laughed with him.
"Dad, that's pretty. for me?"
"Truly like your Mama, you love sparkly things." Shawn shook his head and laughed. "Baby Mel, I'm sorry but this one is for Mama. Dad's asking mommy to marry him. Are you okay with that?"
Mel looked a little confused. She just really wanted the ring and couldn't yet understand what he meant by "marry".
Crystal who laughed at the exchange but at the same time her heart melted. By this time, Andrew had handed her her own mic so that everyone could hear her response. He also fixed Shawn's mic stand to his level so that he didn't have to hold on to the microphone.
"Like princes and princesses, darling. Remember when Cinderella wore a pretty white dress and married the prince?" She tried to explain to their young daughter.
The situation finally clicked in the clever girl's mind. "Are you going to wear a pretty white dress, mama? But you said I'm the princess." The two-and-a-half-year-old girl spoke more than others her age.
Shawn giggled at his daughter, still kneeling on one knee, holding the velvet box. "You are and will always be our princess, baby. But what do you say? Can daddy marry mommy?"
"Okay but you're king and queen and I'm princess." She stated like she ordered her parents around. Shawn and Crystal looked at each other and laughed. They were thinking that she was definitely her mother's daughter just by how she liked everything in order and in her control.
The whole arena was laughing and in awe.
"Thank you, baby. Now, forgive me if I'm being a little impatient but my knees are kind of hurting. What do you say, my queen?"
Crystal was crying but laughed a little as the love of her life looked up at her. To be completely honest, she would be perfectly content if Shawn had just asked her in their bedroom. But Shawn being Shawn, he couldn't help but make her feel special. It was perfect. Their daughter was there hugging her legs; He was the love her life; Their parents family and friends even their fans were all present; They were in the city where they first fell in love.
Crystal looked down at Shawn with tears in her eyes and her daughter who was still eyeing the ring. She reached and held Shawn's face in her hand and wiped at his tears. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you, bubba." She said nodding with the biggest smile on her face.
Shawn breathed a breath of relief and smiled the biggest he's smiled in his life as he slid the ring on her finger. His heart was still beating so fast as was hers. He felt the thumping of her heart when he stood up and pulled her in a hug. The newly engaged smiled at each other like they were the only ones in the room until they felt their little one squeeze herself between them to join the hug.
They looked down at her and smiled then Shawn couldn't help but pull his fiancée in for a kiss.
"Yucky!" Mel made a sour face when she watched her parents kiss making everyone laugh yet again.
"She said yes!" Shawn couldn't help but yell out loud without the mic. The crowd cheered. "I love you forever, Crystal, Mel."
"We love you, Dad!" The two girls said back.
"I'll see you guys in a bit, okay?" She gave both of them a final kiss on the temple before they were ushered down the stage.
Shawn turned to the crowd again. "Now, this one is for my fiancé and daughter as well as for everyone here that is in love. Toronto, this is Fallin' all in you!"
Shawn began singing as Crystal was greeted by Shawn's family first at the bottom of B-stage.
"Darling! Congratulations. I am so happy for the two of you." Karen had to stop herself from hugging Crystal first and let Catrina congratulate her daughter.
"I knew he was a keeper. I'm happy for you, kid." Her dad was there too and gave her a hug.
"Oh Crystal! Congratulations!" Finally, Karen ran towards her with open arms.
"Thank you, Karen. My heart is still beating so fast."
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Nn their wedding day, the most important girls in Shawn's life walked down the aisle.
Shawn was walked over to wait at the altar with both his parents at his side. Then, he watched Aaliyah and her boyfriend walk past. The parents of the bride came next. Vivian was there too as the maid of honor.
Melody Rose, the flower girl who was now 3 years old, scattered roses on the carpet as she walked down. Shawn waved at her before her Grandma Catrina (Crystal's mother) had her sit next to her.
And finally, the first flower girl that he fell in love with appeared at the end of the aisle. Her veil was decorated with flowers and she held a bouquet of red roses as she walked down the aisle.
the end.