Chapter 2

The next morning, the staff meeting had just wrapped up when Henry walked into my office with Sophia in tow.

"Ms. Lane, the Starlight Initiative handover needs to be finalized today."

He pulled out a chair and sat down, his eyes drifting to the window.

Sophia stood beside him. "Ms. Lane, thanks for going through all of this..."

I slid the printed handover list across the desk. "This covers the full project progress and all the client contacts."

Sophia flipped through a couple of pages, her brow tightening. "Ms. Lane, this doesn't include the core data model analysis."

She turned to Henry. "Mr. Carter, without the core data, I'll struggle to keep this on track."

Henry looked back at me. "Where's the data model?"

"Per company policy, the core data is tied to the project lead's account alone." I held his gaze, my voice level. "And Sophia is the project lead now."

Henry's fingers drummed against the desk, his tell when he wanted a point pressed home. "You're leaving for training anyway. What's the use in holding onto this data?"

Sophia kept her eyes down and stayed quiet, but the corner of her mouth lifted up a bit.

I didn't argue, just copied the data onto a flash drive and pushed it across to Sophia. "There."

Henry watched me, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, and slowly pulled back the hand he had half-extended.

"Mr. Carter set this up, so of course I'll do my part." I signed the bottom of the document. "I'm leaving soon anyway. No need to hold up the company's project."

Henry turned to Sophia, his voice going gentle. "Come to my office. I'll walk you through the data."

"Thank you, Mr. Carter."

Sophia grabbed the drive in her excitement and knocked over the coffee. It soaked straight through several important documents.

Henry was on his feet in an instant, gripping her wrist. "Don't touch it. It's hot."

He carefully wiped the coffee from her fingers, never once sparing a glance for the ruined papers.

"Ms. Lane, reprint these." He turned to me as he gave the order.

"Fine."

I calmly swept the ruined sheets into the bin and ran a new copy.

Once the two of them left, I started clearing out my personal things.

A picture frame sat at the back of one drawer, a shot from three years ago in our rented apartment, just after we had started the company.

In the photo he was holding a takeout container and sliding the only fried egg into mine. He had told me back then that one day half the company would be mine, and so would he himself.

I pulled the photo from the frame and fed it straight into the shredder beside me. I watched it become scraps no one could ever piece back together, then let out a long breath.

That evening, I went home.

Henry came out of the kitchen in his loungewear with a bowl of freshly cooked pasta. "Once you're in Saldovia, don't rush into classes. Take some time to look around first."

He held out a small booklet. "Itinerary's done. Hotels are booked."

Inside, every time and route was laid out in detail. "Thanks."

I closed the booklet and got back to my food.

He watched me finish, looking like he wanted to say something. In the end, he just took the empty bowl away in silence.

When I came out of the shower later that night, he was already deep asleep.

The moment I lay down, his arm came around my waist, tightening in his sleep.

"Honey, I'm so lucky to have you."

I stared at the ceiling for a long time, eyes open in the dark, then gently lifted his arm off my waist.