“I feel like I've been here before. I feel so at home.”
~ Sophie, Howl’s Moving Castle
Our Story
We first met on campus. It was our final year at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Zoe was a local student finishing her degree, and Nicholas transferred from Open Campus in Saint Lucia to complete his final year in Trinidad.
The attraction was instant—and visible. Zoe remembers the immediate "butterflies" that took flight the moment they met; Nicholas remembers thinking she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, noticing how she flushed a red the second he spoke to her.
At the time, we were realistic. Nicholas was only in the country for less than a year, so we labeled it a "campus fling." But fate had a different timeline.
On one of our early dates, we went to see a movie and for coffee at Rituals. We started talking about our childhoods, our wildest aspirations, and the people who made us who we are.
We were so lost in each other’s worlds that we didn't notice the plaza lights dimming or the empty store with staff standing by the door, keys in hand, waiting for us to leave. In that moment, we weren't just two students on a date; we were two souls meeting for the first time.
In just one year, "casual" became "inseparable."
Zoe started paying for an apartment on campus near Nicholas (even though she lived 45 mins away), and they began dreaming of a future together in Trinidad.
Then, the world stopped. What was supposed to be a three-month paperwork trip to Saint Lucia for Nicholas turned into a two-year separation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lockdown was hard on everyone in every way. With Nicholas' unplanned stay in Saint Lucia, he faced the job market in the middle of a world wide catastrophe and Zoe was deemed an essential worker and went out to office daily.
Pushing through their daily struggles, they stayed connected through a shared sense of curiosity. Nicholas with his "101 random facts" and quick come-backs ready at all times and Zoe with her love for True Crime and Reality TV, the conversations never stopped flowing.
In March 2022, the distance finally ended when Zoe moved to the “Helen of the West” to be with the man she loved.
Fast forward to December 2024. Nicholas had been planning for months—ordering a custom ring from a jeweler abroad and having a friend smuggle it into the country.
Nicholas’ Perspective: "I was a nervous wreck. Everyone at the office seemed to know, and I couldn't focus on a single task. I told Zoe we were attending a Christmas Dinner for First Citizens Investment. For years, she had been teasing me about getting a 'plus one' to these events, claiming she had earned 'wifey privileges.' Little did she know, she was about to get them permanently. My manager actually saw how stressed I was and let me go home early just to compose myself! I ended up chilling at the beach in my car so Zoe wouldn’t see me and catch on."
Zoe’s Perspective: "I was totally dressed for a corporate dinner! But when we got to Cap Maison, things felt... off. Nicholas was leading me around a cliffside, and I remember thinking, 'What kind of hotel makes you cross water to get to a conference room?' When I saw the secluded gazebo and realized there wasn't a banker in sight, it clicked. Nicholas was standing at the top of the stairs, looking more handsome (and relieved) than ever. As the sun set over the Caribbean Sea, he got down on one knee."
The "giddy" feeling from that sunset hasn't left us since.
