His name on the screen still startled me sometimes, because it didn’t fit the quiet way our relationship had begun. We’d met at a diplomatic reception where I’d gone for work and he’d gone because his name made attendance mandatory. I’d been standing near a table of cheese cubes and toothpicks, debating whether leaving early would look unprofessional, when he’d drifted beside me like someone who didn’t want to be recognized.
“Are you also pretending you’re fascinated by this conversation about trade tariffs?” he’d asked, eyes on the crowd, smile barely there.
I’d laughed, and the laugh had surprised me too. It was real. That’s what he’d noticed first—realness. He’d asked what I did, and when I answered, he’d asked follow-up questions. Genuine ones. Like my thoughts mattered.
Dating Daniel Chin meant accepting that there were details I couldn’t control. He was kind and funny and stubborn in the best ways, but he came with an orbit—agents, planning, security protocols that slid into our lives like weather. We’d kept it quiet deliberately. Daniel wanted a relationship that wasn’t defined by his father’s job. I wanted someone who saw me as more than an accessory.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he replied, and his voice sounded like relief. “I just got the strangest call from the advance team. They’re doing security clearance for a wedding in Connecticut this weekend. Your sister’s wedding.”
My stomach tightened. “They called you?”
“They called because my name got flagged in a local request,” he said. “Sophia, were you planning to tell me you had a family event?”
I leaned back against the kitchen counter in my apartment, looking at the single fork in the drying rack. “I didn’t think you’d want to come.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to come?”
“My family’s complicated.”
A beat. “Complicated how?”
I stared at the tile floor, at a scuff mark I’d been meaning to scrub. “They don’t think I’m successful enough to be visible at my sister’s wedding.”
Silence, heavy and careful. “Visible.”
“They’re seating me in the back and excluding me from photos,” I said, forcing the words out before I could swallow them. “Because Clare’s marrying into a prominent family, and they’re worried I’ll embarrass them.”
Another beat. His voice turned quieter. “So your family is hiding you.”
“It’s just… family drama,” I said, instantly regretting the minimizing tone. “It’s not yours to deal with.”