The words still rang in the air like shattered glass: I can't marry you.
For a moment Ann stood frozen, her hand hovering against Dennis's cheek, her breath caught in her throat. She stared at him as though the world had slipped sideways.
"What… did you just say?" Her voice was faint, almost childlike.
Dennis forced himself to repeat it. "I can't. I won't marry you."
Her hand fell away from his face. She took a step back, shaking her head. "No… no, you don't mean that. You're in pain, you're tired. You don't know what you're saying."
"I know exactly what I'm saying," Dennis said hoarsely. His throat felt like sandpaper, but he pushed on. "I won't let you throw your life away on me."
Ann blinked rapidly, her lips trembling. "Throw my life away? Is that what you think this is? That being with you is some… sacrifice?"
He turned his head, shame flooding him. "It would be. Look at me. I can't move, I can't walk, I can't even feed myself. Is this what you want your future to be? Nursing a broken man?"
"Dennis!" Ann's voice rose, trembling with rage. "You don't get to decide that for me! You don't get to look at me and tell me what my life should be worth!"
Mother flinched at the sharpness of her tone, but Ann didn't soften. Her eyes burned, her fists clenched at her sides.
"You think calling this off will save me?" she said, her voice breaking. "Do you even understand what you're doing? You're not saving me—you're destroying me!"
Dennis squeezed his eyes shut, tears forming. "I can't give you the life you deserve, Ann. Children… celebrations… freedom. I'll only tie you down."
"Stop it!" she cried, slamming her palm against the bedrail. The sound echoed through the room. "Do you think I ever loved you for your legs? For your arms? For your ability to run or dance? If that's what you think, then you never knew me at all."
His voice trembled. "You deserve more than half a man."
"I deserve you!" Ann shouted, her tears spilling freely. "In whatever form, in whatever brokenness, I deserve you. And I will not let you take that away from me."
Father stepped forward, his voice calm but heavy. "Ann… listen to him. He only wants what's best for you. We love you like our own, and we don't want you to suffer with him."
Ann spun toward him, her eyes blazing. "Uncle, I love you both dearly, but don't you see? You're all talking as though I'm some delicate doll who needs protection. I am not. I am a woman who chose him, who loves him. And love is not a convenience you throw away when life gets hard!"
Mother wiped her tears, whispering, "But child, your whole life is ahead of you. Why should you spend it in struggle?"
"Because I'd rather struggle with him," Ann said fiercely, "than live an easy life without him. Do you understand? Comfort means nothing if I don't have Dennis beside me."
Dennis's voice cracked as he whispered, "Ann… I don't want to watch you waste your youth because of me. I don't want to see resentment in your eyes one day."
Ann leaned forward, gripping his limp hand in both of hers. "Resentment? You fool… the only resentment I feel is right now— toward you— for trying to push me away."
Her tears fell onto his skin as she pressed his hand to her heart. "This is where you belong. Broken or whole, sick or strong, here. You are my life, Dennis. Don't you dare try to take that from me."
The room fell utterly silent. Only the beeping machines filled the air.
Mother sobbed quietly. Father's throat worked as though swallowing a stone. Dennis stared at her, speechless, her fire burning into him.
Ann's grip tightened, unshakable. "So no, Dennis. I will not let you call this off. You can shout, you can cry, you can push me— but I am not leaving. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever."
Dennis's lips parted, but no words came. His chest rose and fell with the weight of everything she had said.
He felt torn, broken between despair and the fierce, unstoppable love blazing in Ann's eyes. His parents looked at her as though they had never seen her before— not just as their future daughter-in-law, but as a warrior standing guard over their son.
And in that silence, Dennis realized: she wasn't the one bound to him. He was the one bound to her.