Nico Bellamy had been covertly hoarding an engagement ring for the past three years. The jewelry had originally belonged to his girlfriend’s late grandmother.

The man, who was 27 years old at the time, had been keeping the priceless relic hidden away in a safety deposit box while he waited to propose to his longtime sweetheart during a memorable trip that they had prearranged in advance.

The next thing he knew, one dreadful morning during the summer, he was shocked to discover that it had been stolen.

Bellamy revealed to Good News Network that Caitie Schlisserman’s father had given him the engagement ring after he and Caitie had been dating for a considerable amount of time.

This was done so that Bellamy’s marriage proposal would be enhanced by the presence of the diamond.

He explained in an email that “Caitie’s dad handed me the ring the morning after her elder sister got married.” Caitie’s older sister had recently gotten married.

“I joke that it was a not-so-subtle hint to get on with it already, but I think in reality he expected that after being together for seven years, I’d probably be proposing at some point in the future, and he wanted his daughter to have a family heirloom,” she said.

“It was a family heirloom that had been in the family for generations.”

Back in July, Bellamy and Schlisserman were getting ready to relocate to a new house in Silver Lake, California, which was located on the other side of town.

Bellamy took the ring out of the safety deposit box, placed it inside of a plastic bag, and then inside of a small box before placing the entire thing inside of his backpack in an effort to store the family relic in a location that was more convenient for him to access.

Shortly after the relocation, they were just about to head to the airport to pick up Katie’s father, and when Nico checked for the ring, he discovered that the rucksack had been unzipped, and the box was gone. He also discovered that the ring was missing.

Panic-stricken, he came to the horrifying realization that the movers who had been at his house earlier in the week must have taken it while they were there.

Bellamy merely stared off into space the entire way to the airport, unsure of what he would say to his soon-to-be father-in-law while he continued to attempt to conceal the fact from Catie.

But on the way back from the airport, Bellamy took a back road to avoid the traffic, and that’s when fate intervened in the situation.

The distressed lover found a sign attached to a tree, and the sight of it caused his heart to stop beating. The sign said “Found Engagement Ring” in large, bold letters.

Catie and her father were left alone in the house when Bellamy “went the dog for a walk” and called the number that was displayed on the placard.

It came out that these individuals had discovered the ring box in a neighboring alley, which was the same alley that the movers had been in one week prior.

Bellamy has a hunch that the movers peered inside the ring box, seen the crumpled plastic bag, and then concluded that the box contained nothing because there was nothing else visible inside.

Before “something told them” to look inside the box, the two good Samaritans were so close to throwing it away themselves that they almost did it.

Because of the bizarre turn of events, Bellamy was able to bring the sentimental relic with him to Paris, where they eventually went on their dream vacation, and put it on Catie’s finger on New Year’s Eve so that she could wear it.

According to what Bellamy told Good News Network, the couple who discovered the ring would most certainly be invited to the wedding.

“We haven’t sent out invitations yet, and I haven’t seen them in the last few weeks,” he said, “but I did text them after I proposed to thank them for saving my ass.”

Only one sign was erected in the entire area, and it was placed on a road that Bellamy never travels on. What does Catie think the significance of the coincidence is?

“I’d like to assume that my grandparents were keeping an eye out for us the whole time,” she said.