Freya had gone through this in her head and had made a decision.

Last night was her last goodbye to Chris.

She put on a smile and nodded heavily. "I do. But, you have to get me a cool job, or I'll quit."

Unexpectedly, Mr. Norris didn't look happy at her agreeing to stay at the company.

"What, isn't that what Mr. Norris always wanted? He should be happy!"

"Freya, do you forget what I said when I just woke up?" Mr. Norris put down the teacup. "I said I wanted you to be happy. Will you really be happy to continue working in Norris Group?"

Freya chuckled. "Of course I will! I've been happy during the past months!"

"Even if you can fool yourself, you can't fool me." Mr. Norris's words made Freya's smile freeze, and he continued, "Freya, I know you too well. Are you the kind of person who is used to the nine-to-five daily routine?"

"..."

"I know why you agreed. You were just trying to please me. But Freya, I've thought it through. I can sell Norris Group to others and it won't matter to me. Worldly possessions are nothing compared to good health and happiness. I don't want to clip your wings or hold you back.

"Go ahead. Whatever you want to do, do it. Whatever you want, fight for it. As long as you're happy, I won't stop you anymore."

"..."

Freya lowered her head and let tears fall on her laps, spreading into a small patch of water stain.

Mr. Norris held his daughter's hand affectionately. "Invite Chris for dinner tonight."

Freya shook her head and suddenly cried. "Dad, I don't know what to do."

She indeed still loved Chris.

However, she could not persuade herself.

She feebly lay on her father's laps and the tears soon wetted her father's trousers.

Mr. Norris stroked his daughter's back, full of tenderness. "... Freya, go somewhere new. You've been having too much pressure during the past months. Go somewhere to relax. Maybe you'll meet someone or something that helps you find the answer."

...

It was on the next day, at the security of the airport.

After hearing her parent out, Freya hugged Mr. Norris and her mother, waving at them. "I'm leaving."

"Be careful, don't trust strangers, take care of yourself..." Mrs. Norris said and then couldn't help laughing. "Did I say that before?"

"It's fine!" Freya smiled and hugged her mother again. "I'll listen to you no matter how many times you've said them!"

Mrs. Norris's eyes reddened. "Remember to take care of yourself."

"I will! You and Mr. Norris just need to wait for me to come back!"

After going through security, Freya took the descending elevator and her figure slowly faded out of her parent's view.

Soon, Mr. Norris went back with his wife. However, Chris, who had been standing nearby, hadn't moved at all. He fixed his gaze at where Freya had disappeared as if she would come back the next second if he had kept staring long enough.

However, deep down, he knew that Freya wouldn't come back in a short time.

He thought the night at the party was the prelude of Freya and him getting back together, but it turned out to be an epilogue.

Once again, he tasted the feeling he felt when he watched his father die. The most important piece of his heart had been mercilessly ripped off and only pain that was dripping blood remained.

He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he turned to leave. No one saw when his eyes had misted.

It was in the VIP departure lounge.

Freya sipped the freshly squeezed orange juice the flight attendant served. She found Joanne's number on the phone and called to tell that she was leaving.

"Freya..." Joanne seemed to have many things to say but held back in the end. She just reminded her. "Be careful in places you've never been to, take care of yourself."

Freya burst into laughter. "Why are you talking like my mom?"

Joanne chuckled too. "... When will you come back?"

Freya paused for a while and answered, "I don't know. I think I'll come back when I sort out everything on my mind. You and Brian stay good. Greet me with good news when I come back!"

The flight attendant came in to inform Freya that she could board now. She said goodbye to Joanne, turned off her phone and boarded on a plane to leave the city she was the most familiar with.

When the plane reached a certain height, the skyscrapers in this city turned small in her eyes, like a complex miniature. Unconsciously, she started to look for Chris's apartment, but how was that possible?

Her heart was wrinkled into a lump, and for a second, she regretted leaving this place.

Nevertheless, she still left.

The person whose heart was also trashed was Joanne. She was sure that Chris must haven known about Freya's departure. She called Chris but never got through.

Though knowing that Chris wouldn't act recklessly, she wanted to see him, even if she could only stay by him in silence.

Brian stopped Joanne in time. "At this kind of time, you should give him time to accept reality."

"But..." Joanne wanted to say more but Brian interrupted.

Brian said, "At times like this, no man wants others to see what they look like right now."

Joanne trusted Brian's words, but her eyes turned suspicious. "Where did you get that experience?"

"This is not experience; it's analysis."

"..." Joanne couldn't find a hole in his answer.

...

It was at Chris's apartment.

Leaving the airport, Chris went straight back home.

After sitting upright on the sofa for an hour, he finally seemed to have realized something and walked to the photo wall.

The ancient town, Freya, her smile...

Remembering them now, he found the short stay in the town was the happiest one in the time Freya and he spent together.

Staring at the wall for a long time, Chris found that it wouldn't do.

He even found air to be heavy. He couldn't use his brain or feel his body. He felt a rock pressing on the top of her head and at the same time, millions of needles stabbing all over him...

How could he carry on like this?

He returned to the bedroom and lay on the bed Freya and he used to sleep on together. Suddenly, he got hit by a patch of whiteness, and the temperature of his eyes soared.

The phone rang nonstop in the living room, but he ignored it like he had been in another world.

Half a day, he just needed half a day.

When it got dark outside, Chris closed his eyes and drifted off.

Since the accident of Freya's parents, he hadn't slept well even with the help of sleeping pills. Now, boundless darkness shrouded him and he was not thinking of anyone or anything. All he wanted was to sleep.

Freya used to tell him that everything would be fine when he woke up.

It was a full night of sleep, and it was already the next day when Chris woke up. He involuntarily felt the sheet beside him but only felt emptiness and coldness. Freya's sleepy face was out of sight.

She was gone.

It was Monday.

He got up.

In the past, to save time, Chris usually wouldn't make breakfast himself. However, at some point during the past months, he started enjoying making two breakfasts himself.

Today, he made two sandwiches, ground coffee beans to brew two lattes, and then made a fruit salad.

Freya said that her day wouldn't feel complete without fruit.

The housekeeping auntie came to do the cleaning and saw him serving two breakfasts. She thought Freya, who hadn't visited for a long time, would come today. However, the other breakfast remained on the dining table until the very end. Chris slowly ate his breakfast and looked so calm that even the aunt got confused.

When he was about to leave, the auntie finally couldn't help asking, "Mr. Scott, do I need to... get rid of the other breakfast?"

Chris frowned and rarely, he looked displeased with her. "Why do you have to do that?"

He had been gentlemanly and treated people in all walks of life politely, thus, even the housekeeping auntie got startled by him and only blankly said, "No one wants it... so I have to trash it. Otherwise, it'll rot."

Chris got dazed.

"No one wants it...

"Indeed, no one wants it anymore."

The auntie couldn't tell if his face softened or darkened, and she heard him. "Throw away then."

This strange phenomenon continued. Chris kept making two breakfasts every morning. He would have one of them while the housekeeping auntie disposed of the other.

The auntie highly respected her employer, Chris. He was rich, but he was never arrogant and even treated her, a blue-collar worker, very politely. Therefore, she called Joanne and mentioned this strange matter to the latter.

"It's fine. You don't have to worry about him," said Joanne, "Just... don't ask if someone's going to have the other breakfast."

The housekeeping auntie vaguely guessed something, and she could do nothing but sigh.

Staff at Everbridge Group also noticed Chris's abnormality. On the surface, he was still like before, a bit of a workaholic, both a strict and tolerant boss. However, sometimes, he would strike people as downbeat, even though he still ran the company perfectly fine.

The weirdest part was that he had wholly given up Scott Group's acquisition and handed it over to Brian.

Only Brian dared to ask him why and he answered with three words. "In no mood."

Winter came just like that.

On this day, Chris got off work and received a call from Norris Group's president's office. Mr. Norris wanted to meet with him.

They arranged to meet in a private club, a good place for people to relax. When Chris arrived, Mr. Norris was already there, sipping on his tea. Chris apologetically sat down. "I'm sorry. We got caught up in the evening rush hour traffic."

"It's fine. You're not late." Mr. Norris poured a cup of tea for Chris, who felt somewhat flattered and then darted a suspicious glance at Mr. Norris.

Mr. Norris pushed the nearly-full teacup to the front of Chris. "I didn't know the entire thing until today. You hid it from Freya because of John."

"..."

"And, the UK company's director slipped out, so it was you who made the deal. After I got off work, I met with Manager Zhou. It turns out that he's your friend. You must have arranged for him to work in our company to help Freya, right?" Mr. Norris looked at Chris. "After all you've done, why didn't you tell her?"

Chris lifted the teacup and at the same time, slightly lowered his head. "There's no need to."

Plus, at that time, Freya had hated him to the fullest extent. If she had known about this, she would definitely decline his help.

Mr. Norris sighed heavily and placed his phone in front of Chris. "She's currently in Turkey, and this is the photo she sent to us yesterday. This damned girl is crueler than me, calling us once a week. Her phone was always off, and we couldn't reach her at all."

Chris just stared at Freya in the photo.

Behind her was Hagia Sophia. She was wearing a long coat and a pair of sunglasses. She stretched her arms in front of the camera, smiling sweetly and brightly.

She grew thinner, but she looked fine.

He was perfectly fine with it.