Chapter 2

After a long, exhausting trip, I finally made it back home—and by then, it was already the middle of the night.

With my luggage gone, all I had was a flimsy t-shirt clinging to me.

It was late, and the air was heavy with dew. I stood in the airport pickup zone, arms wrapped around myself, shivering in the cold.

Cabs kept rolling by, drivers leaning out to ask, "Where are you headed?"

I told the driver, "Someone's coming to pick me up."

But after almost an hour, not a single call or text came through.

"Miss, let me take you home. It's almost dawn—whoever was supposed to pick you up probably isn't coming," one cabbie said, unable to just leave me standing there.

He'd already made three trips, but he circled back, rolled down his window, and called out to me.

My gaze dropped, and I walked over to open the car door.

"Alright, let's go," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

By the time I got home, the sun was already up.

The driver, worried I'd freeze, waited until I was safely inside before driving off. My phone was still dead quiet—not a single text, not even a missed call from Charles.

My heart was completely numb.

I didn't send Charles a single message. I blocked him again, then called up Sophia Bell, my best friend and the one handling my wedding plans.

"Put all the wedding plans on hold," I said, keeping my tone cool and flat.

"On hold? Did you guys have a fight on your honeymoon trip? I'll get Leo to talk some sense into Charles. He's about to get married and still manages to tick off his future wife..." Sophia teased, totally clueless about what really went down.

I gave a half-hearted smile and didn't bother explaining. Instead, I asked, "Did the company ever pick someone for that overseas training program?"

Sophia looked surprised at my words.

She and I were both wedding planners—I was in charge of marketing, and she handled the planning and design.

Plus, her uncle was actually the head of our company.

She was the one who went out of her way to recommend me for this opportunity.

"That program means you'd have to work overseas for two years. The company thinks you're the perfect fit and tried to persuade you to go, but aren't you busy getting ready for your wedding with Charles?" Sophia asked.

She always said it was a pity I gave up on that opportunity.

But she knew I couldn't let Charles go, so Sophia never tried to talk me out of it.

As I heard her words, my heart just ached.

Everyone could see I just couldn't let Charles go.

After all these years together, I always put him before myself. Every single birthday, my only wish was to make it work with Charles.

Sophia used to joke that I was totally obsessed with Charles—like I had a one-track mind when it came to him.

I never denied it.

Charles used to be my whole world, but now he couldn't even do something as simple as picking me up from the airport.

Exhausted beyond measure, I had no inclination to uncover the reasons.

With a sigh, I softly uttered, "I've made up my mind to go."

Sophia paused for a second, then said, "Alright, I'll put in the application for you tomorrow. Seriously, you and Charles are so steady—two years working abroad is nothing.

"Plus, he's basically a language whiz with that PhD—perfect timing for him to help you level up your foreign language skills!"