All Chapters of I Should Go Now: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

[How's your father?]Juan Shaw's message sat on the screen, a little too late. I sat on the bench outside the emergency room, still holding the pen for the consent form. I had already cracked the cap, and a tiny sharp edge of plastic dug into my palm.The nurse pushed the door open and came out, her voice low. "Ms. Thomas, the patient is stable for now, but we'll need to keep him under observation after this."I nodded.My phone vibrated again. It was Juan. He sent a second message.[Whitney is stable now. I'm coming over.]I stared at the line for a long time, then replied with two words.[It's fine.]He called me almost at once, but I didn't pick up. By the time Dad was taken to the ICU, it was already morning. Through the glass, I saw him lying on the hospital bed, his face covered by an oxygen mask.I suddenly remembered the night of our engagement party.When Juan put the ring on me, his finger brushed over my knuckle."Vivian, from now on, come to me whenever somethi

Juan's mother, Camila, came to the hospital that afternoon. The moment she entered, she set her purse on the chair and gave me the familiar look. She was already assigning blame, as usual."Vivian, your father being hospitalized is a serious matter. Why didn't you tell us earlier?"I was wiping Dad's hands. "I did."Camila paused, then quickly smiled. "Juan's busy with work. You need to be more understanding. There are many patients who are waiting for him to save their lives."I didn't respond.Dad lay on the bed, guilt in his eyes. "My apologies. We've put your family through a lot."Camila immediately waved it off. "Never mind. We're all family."Then, she took a red invitation sample from her purse. "I had someone redesign the wedding invitations. The mist blue one you chose before was too plain. Whitney has good taste, so she helped pick this gold foil one."My hand stopped at Dad's fingertips. "Whitney helped pick our invitations?"Camila nodded as if it was only natur

At five twenty in the morning, heavy fog rose over the pier. When I pushed Dad onto the ferry, the caregiver followed behind us with a few bags.Dad still didn't know I was taking him to a rehab center out of the city. He leaned in the wheelchair, his voice slurred. "Vivian, where are we going?"I tucked his scarf around him. "Somewhere quieter to recover."There weren't many people in the cabin. I sat by the window and watched Harbor City's lights slowly disappearing.After I turned my phone on, missed call notifications started popping up. All thirty-seven of them, and all from Juan.There were also messages from Camila. [Vivian, where did you take him? The wedding is in seven days. Stop making a fuss.]Whitney also sent one. [Vivian, Juan looked for you all night. He's very worried. Come back, please.]I turned my phone face down on the table.The caregiver handed me a glass of hot water. "Ms. Thomas, the rehab center has confirmed admission. Dr. Adrian Smith also said he wi

"You and Whitney picked the invitations. You can ask her to give the explanation," I said.Camila almost choked. "Stop being so sarcastic! Juan has already changed his surgery schedule these past few days just for you, and he looks pretty worn out too. Come back after you've made enough trouble."My voice was impassionate. "If he's worn out, he can ask Whitney to comfort him.""Vivian!" Camila growled, trying to suppress her anger. "With your father in his current state, there will be many expenses later. If you really cut ties with Juan, who'll support you?"My hand paused. So in her eyes, I was marrying Juan just because I wanted to find someone to pay the medical bills. "You don't need to worry," I said."Don't act tough. When you can't manage anymore, you'll still have to come back and beg us, you hear me?" Camila snapped. I hung up after that.Meanwhile, the lawyer replied very quickly.[Ms. Thomas, there are no legal obstacles to ending the engagement. Costs related to

"Every night, I would think of the emergency room. You sat there alone and called me, but I told you not to make it sound too serious," he said before pausing. "Vivian, I didn't come to ask you to get back together with me."I finally looked at him. His eyes were red, but he tried hard to stay calm. "I came to apologize. I'm sorry."I had waited a very long time for those words. I waited so long to the point they were useless.In the end, I just nodded. "Got it."Juan looked as if that sentence had landed hard. He took a small box from his bag and placed it by the fence. "I had the ring changed and the engraving inside was removed. If you don't want it, you can throw it away."I didn't take it. "Juan, stop giving me things."His fingers stiffened."Everything you're doing now is essentially trying to fill the void left from the past," I said softly, "but I'm no longer there."The breeze blew through the garden. It was rare to see so much sunlight in Mistport. Dad had just