I believed visiting Luke’s family would mark a new beginning — maybe even a proposal. After a year

of love, growth, and open conversations about the future, I felt ready.

But mid-flight, Luke asked me to pretend I was Japanese instead of Chinese to impress his grandmother.

He claimed she preferred Japanese women and said this small lie could help secure an inheritance.

What he really wanted was for me to erase my identity — for money, for image, for him. I calmly said no. I could never deny who I was.

When we arrived, his family greeted me with warmth. I hoped maybe it was all a misunderstanding.

But during dinner, when his mother asked about my name, Luke interrupted and later toasted to me as “Japanese, just like Grandma always dreamed.”

I stood up and told the truth. I wouldn’t be part of a lie.

To my surprise, his grandmother, Sumiko, quietly called out Luke’s manipulation. She never cared about ethnicity — only character.

Her words grounded me, but couldn’t undo the betrayal. That night, I packed my things. Luke didn’t stop me.

At the airport, eating dumplings from home, I realized I wasn’t heartbroken.

I was free — finally, fully me.