“Mr. Bennett?”
Richard did not answer.
I stood.
Not because I owed him respect.
Because I was hosting.
“Richard.”
He crossed the room slowly.
“Sarah.”
No one else knew what to do.
I did.
I extended my hand.
“Welcome to Paris.”
Richard stared at it.
Then shook it.
His hand was cold.
“You’re working on this account?”
“My company is leading the creative partnership.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Neither did I.”
He almost smiled.
Then didn’t.
“You look well.”
“I am.”
The old Sarah would have returned the compliment.
I did not.
Dinner continued.
Richard sat six seats away.
He barely touched his food.
I presented our expansion concept after dessert.
Twenty minutes.
No hesitation.
No searching his face for approval.
When I finished, the hotel chairman applauded first.
Richard did not.
For one irrational second, the old wound opened.
Then he stood.
The room quieted.
“This is the strongest creative direction Horizon has seen for this project.”
He looked directly at me.
“Our investment team should approve the full proposal.”
No personal comment.
No history.
Business.
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
That was all.
After dinner, I stepped onto the terrace.
Paris stretched below in soft gold light.
I heard the door open behind me.
I knew it was Richard.
“You used to hate cold weather.”
“I still do.”
“Then why are you outside?”
“Because you followed me.”
He stopped.
That surprised him.
I turned around.
“What do you want?”
His expression changed.
“I’ve asked myself that every day for two years.”
“That’s a long time to remain confused.”
“I want my family back.”
There it was.
The sentence he had traveled across an ocean to say.
Once, it would have given me everything I thought I needed.
Now it felt strangely small.
“Leo is your family.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
Richard moved closer but left distance between us.
“I was wrong.”
“I know.”
“I let Chloe manipulate the situation.”
“No.”
His brow furrowed.
“No?”
“You keep saying that because it makes what happened easier to explain.”
“She staged the entire scene.”
“She did.”
“Then how—”
“Chloe lied to you for thirty seconds. You neglected me for years.”
Richard went still.
“Those are different problems.”
He looked away.
The traffic below sounded distant.
“I ended all contact with her.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“I removed her family’s firm from Horizon’s vendor network.”
“That also has nothing to do with me.”
“I thought you would want to know.”
“Why?”
Richard opened his mouth.
Closed it.
