"Where are you?" "I told you." Qin Yibo's voice is flat through the phone. "I'm at Summit. Ruowei just woke up from surgery." "I booked the civil registry for twelve," I say. "You promised." "I'm right here. I can't—" "You can't what? Walk across the courthouse and marry me like an adult?" I level my voice. People in line glance over. A mother with a sleeping toddler meets my eyes and looks away fast. "I'm staying," Yibo says. "She—she needs someone." "Then be someone for her. Not for me." My hand tightens around the registry appointment ticket until the paper creases. "You came to my parents' house to ask me to marry you. You promised at the registrar." "I know what I said," he says. "I never meant to hurt you." "You left me here," I say. "You stood me up." "I'm not choosing between you and her," he says. "I'm only trying to do the right thing." "Choosing? You chose to sit in a hospital room while I waited with paperwork in my hand." My voice drops. "Pick a life and live with it. I'm done." "Zhi-An—" "Don't call me that." I press the screen. He keeps talking, so I swipe. The call ends. My thumb hovers over his contact. I block him. The registry door clicks open behind me. A wedding party pushes through and someone laughs too loudly. I step back, let them pass. My