Marriage Application: A Fateful Revelation

, were friends of my family and took me in. They had Chloe, who was my age, and they treated me well enough. But a yea

rse. He was younger, cuter, and knew how to cry and act pitiful

grades, Kevin's were celebrated, while mine were expected. He was the fragile, precious boy, and

said she couldn't bear to be apart from me. The real reason, I later learned, was that she didn't want to be away from Kevin. I got a job in construction, working

st being

l was go to an internet cafe. I pulled up the application for Stanford University. In

this

arents left me was still in a trust fund, untouched. It was more than enough to cover tuition and living expens

ut before Chloe and Kevin returned. As I approached the front door,

and her mothe

r voice tight with frustration. "He humiliated me. He pu

said, her voice smooth and prag

this for the best?

works hard. But he's... dull. He has no spark. Kevin, on the other hand, he's charming. He

eld my breath, my hand

," Chloe said, her voice dropping.

y him, that money will support all of us. But if you were with Kevin... you'd hav

sing me, they were appraising me like a piece of livestock. A reliabl

ning its confidence. "He loves me too much. He'll come around. I'll ta

ning in my chest. It was the same pain I had felt for thirty years in my pas

t a slow poison. It was a fire, burning away th

I wouldn't pack tonight. I wouldn't

ever truly my home. I kept my face blank, my steps