Ninety-Nine Denials: A Fateful Proposal

hip wasn't al

to pull everyone into her orbit. I was the quiet guy who preferred weather

willing to overlook the one giant, complic

d me about

floor of my tiny apartment, surrounded by moving boxes. "My dad... and my grandma...

er eyes pleading fo

sitive, and his health has never been good.

amic. Her grandmother, a stern woman rooted in tradition, had made it clear that while Leo was family, he wasn't

plans. The money she sent him without telling me. I told myself

my love, I thought. I was being

ok a turn. He needed, in Chloe's word

ronment became o

st, it was fine. I tried to be welcomin

ame to me with a ser

eo should take ou

at her. "

would be easier for him at night, with his conditi

m, our sanctuary. That he was a guest. But I saw the loo

the smaller roo

d the kitchen counter. His TV shows were always on in the living room. Chloe star

urs. It felt like Leo's clinic

ll myself it

ler room. Chloe was already asleep, exhausted from a day of taking care of Leo. "She's ju

ge of my own home, to the periphery of my own relationship. I was so focused on being