Chapter 9

Dad's welcome was unique—he got me settled, then took me to a huge bar.
Loud music, strong drinks.
The double hit made all my frustration seem to disappear.
Later, Dad tapped out, left me with bodyguards, and went home to rest.
I partied till dawn, then stumbled out with the guards' help.
Half-asleep, I saw a familiar figure.
She hurried over.
"Alex, come home with me."
"I'll handle the parents and Daniel. Just come home."
Sophia stood in front of me, hair disheveled, dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.

For a split second — just a split second — the old Alex wanted to reach out and smooth the worry from her face.

But that Alex was dead. Buried in a diary full of another man's name.

"How did you find me?" My voice came out flat, stripped of emotion.

"I tracked your flight. Asked around. Your dad's not exactly low-profile in this city."

"You tracked me."

"I was worried! You just disappeared! No call, no text, no—"

"No what, Sophia? No courtesy? Like the courtesy of not sleeping with your ex in our home?"

She flinched as if I'd slapped her.

"I didn't sleep with Daniel. I told you, he was drunk—"

"I saw the cameras."

The blood drained from her face.

"I saw everything. The kiss. The soup. The kneeling. His foot on your chest." My voice was terrifyingly calm. "So please, don't insult me with another lie."

Sophia stood frozen on the sidewalk. The morning sun was rising behind her, casting long shadows.

"Alex, I can explain—"

"I don't need an explanation. I need you to leave."

"But the wedding—"

"There is no wedding. There's been no wedding since the night you chose him."

"I didn't choose him! I chose you! Ten years ago, I chose you!"

"No." I looked at her with the clearest eyes I'd had in a decade. "Ten years ago, you settled for me. There's a difference."

Her lip trembled. Real tears — not the crocodile kind she used on business partners — started falling.

"That's not true. Alex, you know that's not true."

"Your diary says otherwise."

She went pale. "You read my diary?"

"You left it in our home. In the bedroom you shared with Daniel."

"It's not what you think—"

"It's exactly what I think. 'Alex is safe. Alex is comfortable. Alex will never leave.' That's what you wrote. Not 'Alex makes me happy.' Not 'I love Alex.' Just... safe."

She was sobbing now, but I felt nothing. The numbness was complete.

"Go home, Sophia. Go back to Daniel. Go back to the life you actually want."

"I want you!"

"You want what I provide. That's not the same thing."

The bodyguards shifted uncomfortably. One of them offered Sophia a tissue. She slapped it away.

"Alex Chen, if you walk away from me right now, we're done. Forever."

I almost smiled.

"We were done forever ago, Sophia. I'm just the last one to realize it."

I turned and walked back into the building. The elevator doors closed on her tear-streaked face.

I didn't look back.