로그인Chapter Twenty-nineI arrived at the Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue in a private car that pulled up to the edge of the road under a clear, autumn skylight. The city did not look any different from the way it used to be beautiful three years ago. The only thing that had changed was me, I was no longer the same woman whose movement was once fettered and limited to a sanctuary built by my husband out of guilt. I was completely free, composed and guiltless.I walked out of the car and moved to the Manhattan pavement. I was neatly dressed in a spotless ivory wool coat covered with a well tailored black suit, my dark hair styled in modern waves. I was so confident walking without using a cane or any support brace. My comportment and fearlessness were obvious to all who knew me three years before now. The season's air in New York was cool, nice and normal. The taxis in their yellow colours moved down the avenue, their horns sounding loudly against the tower glass of the skyscrapers. The city
Chapter Twenty-eightThe autumn light passed slowly through the space created by the parted thick curtains on the tall windows of my Kensington office, throwing long shadows on the large drafting tables.It was exactly two years ago on a Monday morning, after I had arrived in Heathrow Airport with just a leather suitcase and a copy of a signed divorce petition. By this time, my personal architectural consulting enterprise, Hastings & Vance, a name known to my most senior engineering manager, Marcus, had found a place on the top floor of a refurbished nineteenth century warehouse overlooking the river.I stood near the window, holding a warm cup of black tea from which I took a sip. Below, the Thames sparkled like a ribbon of black board under the light sky of England. I was dressed in a well tailored black wool trousers suit with a cream blouse. My hair was neatly packed into an elegant bun. I walked with little or no effort, no shaking, no panic. The pain I used to feel in my left le
Chapter Twenty-sevenThree years after my departure from New York, I sat outside on a sofa at my Kensington apartment in London.It was getting late in the evening. The sky above the city displayed brilliant colours of gold, rose and violet, as the rays of sunlight fell on the roofs of buildings in the neighborhood. The breeze was warm, still mixed with the sweet aroma of night-blooming flowers and newly cut green grass.That evening was peaceful.I sat, feeling comfortable with my legs crossed, holding a mug of black tea I was about to sip. This particular night, I felt no titanium pain in my leg. There was no ghost man sitting beside me in the name of massaging my leg to alleviate pains. There were no unending sounds of medical diagnoses, and no room for a strange woman to exaggerate my condition to her secret advantage.For the first time in a long while, I had no reason to measure my happiness by what someone else approved. I was living normally.My phone was placed on a small wo
Chapter Twenty-sixExactly four months later, one afternoon in summer, the official opening of the European Heritage Cultural Pavilion was done in Kensington.The completed building was an outstanding example of architectural design and engineering. It was a masterpiece of light, space and structural accuracy. The adjusted nineteenth-century brick walls were fixed in perfectly with a huge central room brightened by natural light, assumed to float over the riverbank. Within, there laid hundreds of heavy, lightweight steel beams supporting an open gallery where notable historical architectural records from all over Europe were kept.Gathered in the central public square was a crowd of over five hundred people consisting of international architects, city leaders, students of tertiary institutions, and other members of the public. I stood on the glass balcony from where I could see the main gallery. I wore a well tailored white linen suit. Standing beside me was Sarah who appeared splend
Chapter Twenty-five By the spring of the following year, nineteen months after I departed from New York, I had been fully established in London. My entire life had taken a new shape particularly in the architectural industry.It was just three months to the grand opening of the Kensington Heritage Cultural Pavilion. My research team had grown to twelve junior architects, and my periodic private seminars on suitable structural engineering were fully booked two semesters ahead.One rainy Wednesday morning, as I was sitting before my large drafting table in my Scarsdale private apartment, I received my morning mail. Apart from the local architectural journals, utility bills, and global research correspondence, I saw a thick cream envelope without a corporate letterhead.I recognised the handwriting on the front immediately: sharp, legible, and disciplined.It was Julian's handwriting.I sat calm with my cup of hot coffee, staring at the envelope for a while. My heartbeat did not increas
Chapter Twenty-fourThree months after Julian's unexpected appearance at my place, the annual International Heritage Gala of the Royal Institute of British Architects was held in the lecture hall of the Portland Place headquarters.The hall was a very beautiful example of great architectural work. It was a large, impressive room framed with tall stone arches, rich oak walls, and a huge glass roof that reflected the night lights of London. About three hundred of Europe’s leading structural engineers, urban planners, civic leaders, and heritage preservation directors were in attendance.A heavy oak stand was provided on the main stage. I stood behind the pulpit, dressed in a tailored black silk tuxedo suit with an ivory lapel. My elegant hair was all back, exposing my silver geometric earrings that glowed at the reflecting stage lights.Beside the speaker's stand, a finished three-dimensional model was projected onto a huge screen, about twenty feet wide, showing how weight and pressure







