My wife always joked she didn’t need to learn French — she had our daughter to translate for her. That worked fine… until one sunny afternoon when our five-year-old accidentally revealed a secret she shouldn’t have.

I met Hailey 10 years ago in Lyon. She was the typical American student struggling with French, and I helped her find a library. We dated long-distance, then married, and now have a daughter, Élodie, who effortlessly switches between English and French.

Hailey never mastered French and proudly relied on Élodie as her translator. One perfect evening, with family gathered for dinner just before our 10th anniversary, Élodie blurted out a surprising secret: Hailey had met a man at a jewelry store and told her not to tell me.

My heart dropped. Was Hailey cheating?

Hailey laughed off the accusation — the man was Julien, a college friend helping pick out anniversary rings. The flowers? Just a dramatic touch from Julien. The secret? It was meant to be a surprise.

Then Hailey pulled out a velvet box with two gold bands and dropped to one knee. “Would you marry me again?” she asked.

I smiled through the shock and said, “Yes. A thousand times yes.”

Two weeks later, we renewed our vows surrounded by love, laughter, and our daughter’s secret-keeping grin.