"You are meeting Jayden's daughter tomorrow."
Keng's father's voice cut through the room like a command that allowed no argument.
"I'm not meeting anyone's daughter, Father," Keng replied calmly.
The calmness only fueled the tension.
"I'm in love with someone's son. Don't you get it?" he added, his expression steady, his resolve unshaken.
Keng's father scoffed and raised his hand toward Keng's mother.
"Can you see the kind of human being you raised?"
"Keng…" his mother called softly now tired of all the drama. "Do you really love Ping?"
Her eyes searched his face, desperate for the truth.
"Yes, Mom," Keng answered without hesitation. "I do."
He took a breath.
"Ping is like a calm sea, and I'm like a storm. He makes me calm. He makes me want to build a strong, better future."
That was all it took.
Tears spilled from his mother's eyes as she pulled him into a tight hug.
"It's alright, my son," she whispered, holding his face. "You can love whoever you want. I just want you to be happy."
"I'm sorry I disappointed you, Mom," Keng said, his voice breaking as he cried too.
But the room was far from peaceful.
"Are you both out of your minds?" Keng's father snapped.
"Your son loves a full-grown man, and you're happy about it?"
"You'll marry Jayden's daughter," he roared, "or I'll disown you!"
"Disown me if you want," Keng shot back. "I'm never leaving Ping's side. Not again."
"Please," Keng's mother pleaded. "He's your son."
"I didn't give birth to a gay son," his father replied coldly.
Keng laughed bitterly.
"You keep saying gay, gay, gay—yes, I'm gay!" he yelled. "Can't I love whoever I want?"
And with that, he stormed out.
He grabbed his car keys—and the phone his father had taken—slamming the door behind him.
Inside the car, he switched the phone on.
Ping's messages flooded the screen.
Are you okay?
Please text me.
I'm worried.
Keng's hands shook as tears blurred his vision.
He started the engine and drove off, dialing Ping's number.
Ping answered on the third ring.
"Hia?" Ping said, surprised. "I heard what happened from your friends. Are you okay? Where are you now?"
"Ping," Keng finally said. "I'm on my way to you."
He swallowed hard.
"I want you to know that I love you so much."
Crash.
"Keng—Keng!" Ping shouted into the phone. "Hia! Hia!"
No response.
Only silence and the siren of ambulance.