Chapter 2

That evening, James called.

When his deep, magnetic voice came through, I felt strangely unfamiliar with it. His latest company project had kept us apart for two months.

His phone was usually with his assistant Chloe. To reach him, I had to explain my purpose to her first, and she would decide if the call was worth passing through. So I generally didn't bother trying.

"Sophia."

Music played softly in the background.

"I heard you were being difficult today?"

I paused. "Heard? From whom?"

He sounded annoyed. "I'm too busy these days to coach you, but you need to grow up. Work is work – you need to be professional, not act like a child."

I gave a soft "Oh."

"About that reality show – word travels fast. I see the agent complained to Chloe. And being difficult? Just because I said I wanted to review the contract before signing?"

The phone went quiet for two seconds before his slightly weary voice returned.

"You didn't even finish college. What could you possibly understand about contracts?"

"Everything's been prepared for you. You just need to sign. Everyone's already exhausted, why can't you be more considerate instead of creating obstacles for the staff?"

"Sophia, when will you ever mature..."

That tone again.

For years, whenever I didn't follow his instructions, whenever I expressed my own opinions, I faced this attitude from him.

Mild reproach mixed with hints of disappointment and resignation.

The familiar suffocating feeling rose from deep within, blocking my chest, choking my throat until I couldn't speak.

"James!"

A soft, pleasant female voice cut in.

"I think I can guess what Mrs. Thompson is concerned about."

It was Chloe.

James didn't respond.

His silence was acceptance.

Chloe let out two melodious laughs and continued smoothly.

"This is a divorce reality show after all. Mrs. Thompson has to declare she wants a divorce in front of a national audience. She loves you so much, naturally she's worried that pretending might accidentally become reality."

"So James, this is actually your fault. You didn't consider her feelings and handled it too roughly. Her sulking is understandable."

I froze.

Setting aside her presumptuous interpretation of my feelings and dismissing my concerns as mere sulking...

She was criticizing James.

Criticizing the usually towering, all-knowing James of being wrong.

I couldn't help but be curious about his reaction.

Over the phone, James was quiet for a moment before giving a low "Mm."

"Chloe makes a good point. Sophia, I didn't think this through properly."

In that instant, I let out a silent laugh.

Outside, the few remaining leaves on the sycamore tree were caught by an autumn breeze from somewhere, falling silently to the ground.

"However," James continued, "besides being husband and wife, we're also business partners with cross-holdings in multiple companies. Divorce would benefit neither of us. These worries of yours – if you'd just think it through logically, you'd know they're unnecessary. Sophia, you've been with me for five years. I thought you'd learned to analyze situations objectively by now. You need to work on this – learn from Chloe's example."

Chloe and I were both twenty-seven.

We'd met James in the same year.

The difference was that she came from an elite background, graduated from Stanford, and possessed both intelligence and grace – the perfect combination of beauty and brains.

I was just a reality show contestant who dropped out of college to act, making a name for myself solely on looks. Critics said of me, "Beautiful, yes, but soulless."

Initially, I actually thought James would choose her...

Now, James had finished speaking and fallen silent. He was waiting for me to apologize and reflect, like always.

He would incisively point out my shallow understanding and immature mindset, and I would sincerely reflect, accepting his criticism or working harder.

But this time, I said nothing.

Through the phone, only the tireless background music continued to flow.

After a while, I asked: "You have me on speaker?"

One of our few arguments in four years of marriage had been when I called him to be affectionate one time and heard Chloe's sudden laughter. Later, discovering he had me on speaker, I was mortified and furious, crying hard until he promised it would never happen again.

Back then, our relationship had still been good.

He had promised.

"Sophia." James clearly remembered this incident. "Chloe had some wine at dinner, I'm driving with navigation on, so—"

"It's fine, I was just asking."

I laughed noncommittally, my eyes falling on the signature line at the bottom of the contract.

"I've signed the contract. I'll give it to the agent tomorrow."

James was satisfied.

Satisfied that I hadn't dwelled on Chloe's presence.

Satisfied that I had once again docilely accepted his arrangements.

"You've always wanted to visit Altai, haven't you? Once things settle down, I'll make time to take you there."

"We'll see."

I hung up the phone.