It was a night she would never forget for many reasons.

Selena generally loved Christmas. It was her favorite time of the year. However, she never expected it to become as bizarre as it turned out.

Her boyfriend of two years wanted to take her somewhere special for Christmas Eve. Although Christmas was generally family time for her, she agreed.

Everything was going wonderfully well, the dinner, the flirty chat, then suddenly Eric was kneeling in front of her.

"Selena, I have loved you since the moment I saw you. Will you marry me?" Eric asked, confidently looking into her eyes.

Instead of saying anything, Selena burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears started running down her cheeks.

"Selena?" Eric asked, utterly confused by her reaction.

"You're joking, right?" Selena said, sure that he had a perfect poker face.

"Ah, no, I'm not," Eric said, getting up from the ground and plumping himself back in the chair.

The look of sadness in his eyes told Selena he was crushed. However, she wasn't sure what she could do about it. She couldn't just marry him.

Selena wasn't ready for that. She never would be.

"Eric," Selena said gently.

She reached for his hand on the table, but he pulled it back quickly, putting as much distance between them as possible.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just..." Selena started saying.

"...don't love me as much as I love you," Eric finished her sentence for her.

"No, of course, that's not it. Well, I think that's not the case. I'm not sure if I want marriage for myself. Ever," Selena admitted.

"Well, you let me know when you figure out what you want, Selena," Eric said, leaving.

In three long strides, Eric was out of the door, and Selena was left to ponder what she could have done differently.

She cared deeply about Eric. However, marriage was never an option for her. It required far more trust than she had to offer. Nevertheless, she didn't want to break Eric's heart.

Looking at the full moon above her head, Selena wished that the moon goddess, her namesake, would allow her to do things all over again. She focused all her energy on that thought and blacked out due to exhaustion.

The next thing Selena knew, she was in her bed, groggily swathing at her alarm clock in an attempt to turn it off.

When she dragged herself out of the bed's comfort, she took some aspirin for her headache and almost choked on it as she saw the date.

It was 24th December again.

"What is going on? Am I still sleeping?" Selena wondered aloud.

Still sleepy, she pinched herself, which only resulted in sharp pain.

Without really thinking about it, she dialed Eric's number.

"Hi, honey! Miss me already?" Eric asked teasingly.

No shadow of rejection marred his velvety voice, and Selena could feel tears gathering in her eyes.

"Always," she said, smiling at the vacant room. "I was merely calling to check if we were still on for tonight."

She was scrambling for any excuse to not admit she was going crazy. It must have been a dreadful nightmare that felt too real for comfort.

"Of course!" Eric yelled enthusiastically. "I have something special in mind for tonight."

"That's what I was afraid of," Selena mumbled quietly.

"What was that, honey? I didn't hear you," he said.

"I said I'm looking forward to it," she said.

"Me, too," Eric said, muttering something to one of his coworkers on the other end. "I have to go now. I love you."

"I love you too," she said automatically, too lost to say or do anything else.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't break his heart again, so I must try to find a gentle way to let him down," Selena thought.

Soon enough, she sprang to action to find a way to spare Eric's feelings while still refusing his proposal. Thus, she called in sick and started drafting the perfect refusal speech. Before she felt fully ready, it was time to go to dinner.

When she arrived, Eric kissed her gently, and she relished the kiss more than ever. She wanted to remember everything about it, its minty flavor, the gentleness of his lips.

Serena was saying goodbye to him on the off chance that her speech didn't work. She enjoyed the night as much as she did the first time. However, the closer the moment came, the more terrified she was.

She didn't want to lose Eric, but she refused to lose herself in the artificial construct whose goal was to keep women subordinate.

"Selena, I have loved you since the moment I saw you. Will you marry me?" Eric asked her once again, kneeling before her.

Instead of going into a fit of laughter like the last time, Selena did her best to look at him with all the gentleness she could muster.

"I love you, too, but I can't marry you," Selena said softly.

Eric rose from the ground with a crushed look in his eyes.

"Why not?" he asked, barely keeping tears at bay.

Selena wanted to give him the most perfect excuse. Yet, she didn't have any. So, she went with the truth.

"I don't want to lose myself, to become just Mrs. Thompson. It terrifies me to lose myself to us. To become just the mother of your children and the housekeeper," Selena said.

She was far more honest than she intended, but she couldn't stop the words from bursting out.

"And you think I would allow for that to happen? That I would do that to you?" Eric asked, horrified.

"No, I... I don't know," Selena said.

"Then you clearly don't know me, and it's better if we end things here," Eric said, walking away from her.

"Ergh!" Selena exclaimed, banging her head against the table in frustration.

Before she knew it, she was back in her bed, starting the same day, all over again.

The same thing kept happening. And try as Selena might, she only managed to make things worse.

Finally, after five horrible do-overs, she decided to alter everything.

The moment she got up she grabbed her phone and called him.

"Hey, honey. I didn't expect your call. What's up?" Eric asked.

"I don't feel so good. Could you take the day off and come hang out with me?" Selena asked him, knowing how selfish that was.

She knew he had an important meeting, one of those where the company's future depended on it. Still, Selena couldn't stop herself. She needed to figure out why she couldn't give him what he wanted the most. What best way to do that but by spending more time with him?

"Absolutely, I'll be right over," he said, no questions asked.

Selena felt as if she was finally a priority to someone. She mattered more than anyone or anything else.

"Honey, are you okay?" Eric asked the moment he entered the apartment.

"I'm feeling very down," Selena admitted looking at the ground. "No matter what I do, I keep messing up."

"Selena, you know that's not true. You've done so many amazing things! Why would you believe that?" Eric asked.

That was when the truth poured out of her, untamed. It left Eric stunned, but Selena felt relieved that she finally shared the odd occurrences with someone.

"You're telling me you've repeated this day, trying not to hurt my feelings?" he asked.

Selena nodded as tears poured down her cheeks.

"What about you?" Eric inquired.

"What about me?" Selena asked, confused.

"Who protected you from the pain of my reaction to your refusal?" he asked in a low voice.

"Hm, I guess no one. But I'm fine," Selena said, with her best fake smile.

"No, you're not. Whether I remember it or not, I'm the one who hurt you, and for that, I'm truly sorry," Eric said.

"It's not your fault. I just don't know how to be a good wife to you," she admitted.

"Oh, honey, you don't have to be anything you aren't ready to be. All I ever wanted was to have you by my side, forever," Eric said, looking deep down into her eyes, to her very soul.

"You don't expect me to be like all the other wives?" Selena asked in wonder.

"Absolutely not. I chose you, and when I did so, I knew what I was getting myself into," Eric said, smiling gently.

Selena took his face in her hands and gave him a light, lingering kiss.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being such an amazing and understanding boyfriend," she said.

"For you, always," he said, hugging her tightly.

"How about skipping the proposal tonight and just staying here snuggled up?" she said, smiling at him. "Next time, you can plan it out again. I'd be both surprised and willing."

"Sounds good to me," Eric said.

"Oh, no! What about your meeting?" Selena exclaimed, recognizing her transgression.

"Don't worry. My colleagues can handle it without me. I've trained them well. You are the one who needs me more," Eric said.

"I sure do," Selena said, snuggling closer to her boyfriend.

Moments later, she fell into a deep slumber and woke up to a brand-new day.