Chapter 2

2.

Ignoring Beckett's bewildered expression, I set my phone down and went to freshen up.

After washing up, I saw an unread message on my phone.

It was from Maeve, my business partner and childhood best friend.

"Have you really decided on moving to Paris? Can you actually bear to leave your precious Beckett behind? If you run back after two days again, I will strangle you."

"I am dead serious!"

The corners of my lips curved slightly.

"I definitely will not. If I turn back halfway this time, I will hand you my head on a platter."

Three years ago, our company needed someone to spearhead an expansion in another city.

After discussing it with Beckett, I agreed to go.

Yet on the third day of my trip, Beckett was hospitalized for severe stomach ulcers.

I booked a red-eye flight and rushed right back to his side.

Ever since then, I had stayed put at headquarters to take care of him.

Beckett and I dated for five years and had been married for seven.

Ever since high school, I knew he was the type of person who would forget to eat and sleep once he was focused on his research.

If I worked out of town, we would barely see each other a few times a year.

I simply could not bring myself to leave him all alone.

After we married, many friends asked why I settled down with a man who seemed to lack worldly ambition.

They told me Beckett made a great boyfriend, but not a suitable husband.

I always smiled and answered:

"Because he saved me, both mentally and physically."

Due to trauma from my toxic family, I suffered from severe clinical depression back then.

When I let myself sink into the freezing ocean, ready to end it all, he dove in and dragged me out.

Afterward, he accompanied me to every single therapy appointment.

Rain or shine, he never missed one.

Once I started recovering, I asked him:

"Were not you terrified back then? You were so young."

He waved his hand dismissively with a warm smile. "I could not bear to let someone with such a beautiful smile leave this world."

"Besides, we have a long road ahead. I want to explore the world with you while you smile."

Back then, Beckett probably never imagined that he would one day become the reason my depression relapsed.

Life is not a simple multiple-choice question.

And I was never his permanent answer.

Maeve had witnessed our entire journey from the very beginning.

She immediately sensed something amiss between Beckett and me.

"The world is huge, full of delicious food and fascinating people. If you take that step forward, the future is worth living for."

"Tomorrow is July first, a fresh start for everything."

A moment later, she sent another text:

"The Paris branch launches in one week. Girl, even without a man, you are going to be filthy rich!"