"I hope that one day, I can bring my research back to America."
Back then, there was light in his eyes.
It was that promise that made me fall for him in the first place.
We were both Chinese-American, but our hearts had always belonged to the East.
I thought we shared the same dream.
Turns out, he'd given up on it a long time ago.
The only place he wanted to be was wherever Vivian Blake was.
That night, he came home late.
I was already in bed when he stepped onto the balcony to make a call.
"Vivian, don't cry."
"Mm, the paperwork's all been submitted..."
"Don't worry, I'll be there..."
He soothed her for a long time, his voice carrying a tenderness I had never once heard directed at me.
In the middle of the night, he rolled over and mumbled something in his sleep.
"Vivian... I miss you..."
I smiled bitterly in the dark.
I used to be a heavy sleeper.
Apparently, I'd missed quite a few confessions.
The next morning, Robert left early.
"Don't forget to go submit the paperwork."
His eyes flickered with something like panic, but he didn't linger for even a second.
On the desk sat a stack of immigration documents.
His were already gone. Only mine remained.