Chapter 2

"Why aren't the main lights on?" Henry's voice echoed through the living room.

I turned off the screen and walked out of the study.

Henry was standing by the door, taking off his shoes. When he saw me, he casually opened his arms. "Come here, let me hug you. I'm exhausted today."

I stopped two paces away from him, my eyes fixed on the collar of his shirt. It was crumpled.

"What's wrong?" He sensed my pause, stepped forward, and rubbed my hair.

"It's nothing. I was just reading, and my eyes are a bit sore." I tilted my head slightly and avoided his hand.

Henry's hand froze for a second; then he acted as nothing had happened and slipped it back, pulling a jewelry box out of his pocket.

"I was passing by a jewelry store and spotted this necklace. It looked perfect for you, so I bought it. Think of it as an early wedding present." He opened the box, and inside was a diamond necklace.

As I looked at the necklace, Sophia's social media post from half an hour ago flashed through my mind. [The best gift is being someone's favorite.]

She posted a picture of the same necklace, except the diamond on hers was way bigger than mine.

"Do you like it?" Henry asked in a low voice, sounding confident.

"It's nice." I took the box and put it on the bar next to me.

Henry's brows furrowed, not pleased with my bland reaction.

"Are you still upset about the whole house situation from yesterday?" He sighed, walking over to the bar and pouring himself a glass of water.

"I've already told you. Sophia is raising her kid all alone, and she doesn't even have a place to crash." He took a sip of water, his tone growing earnest.

"You're about to be my wife. Try to look at the bigger picture. Don't get caught up in all this petty stuff," he said.

I looked at his face, and he suddenly seemed like a stranger to me. "I'm not upset." I looked into his eyes, and my tone was extremely peaceful.

Henry froze for a moment, surprised by my answer.

"Really? You're not upset?" He put down the water glass and walked over to hug my shoulder. "I knew it. My Claire is always so understanding."

"Yeah." I leaned obediently on his shoulder and smelled the faint scent of baby powder on him.

"I have to go on a business trip tomorrow," I murmured.

Henry held my hand tightly. "A business trip? The wedding's the day after tomorrow. Why would you leave now?"

"There's a problem with a project in Crestwood, and the client specifically asked for me to handle it. I'll be back in a day, so it won't affect the wedding." I pulled away from his embrace and looked him in the eye.

"Didn't you always say you should see things through at work?" I asked.

Henry stared at me for a few seconds, as if he was trying to decide if I was being honest.

After a moment, he gave a helpless smile. "Fine, you workaholic. But you have to make it back by tomorrow night. There's a pre-wedding dinner, and a few important elders will be there."

"Okay." I nodded.

He gently stroked my cheek. "Get some rest. I'm going to take a shower."

Watching him walk away, I turned and headed back to the bedroom, shoving the suitcase into a corner of the walk-in closet.

Early the next morning, while Henry was still fast asleep, I took my suitcase with me.

As soon as I got in the car, my phone lit up with a message from Sophia.

Sophia: [Claire, Mr. Quinn told me to take care of the last payment on the house today. I need to go to the Housing Authority, so I'm taking the day off.]

With one hand on the wheel, I shot back a quick reply: [Go ahead.]

As I drove out of the neighborhood, I didn't head to Crestwood. Instead, I went straight to the office.

The office was empty. I sat down at my desk.

I turned on my computer, packed up all the design documents and core data that belonged to me, and then emptied the computer completely.

After that, I signed the statement I'd written last night with my electronic signature and set it to be sent out automatically.

I scheduled it to go to Henry, the legal department at Nebula, and every member of the board.

Finally, I printed out a hard copy and left it face-down on Henry's desk.

I turned and walked away, not looking back.