All Chapters of Our Sixth Anniversary Was My Goodbye: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

The retreat was at a lakeside resort in Wisconsin.For six years, Damian had disliked me spending time with male coworkers, so I’d skipped team dinners, holiday parties, and even most lunches with my own department. Eventually, everyone decided I was aloof.It wasn’t until I sat beside a bonfire with my team that I realized how much more I’d missed than a few free meals.People talked about work, skiing, and spectacularly bad dates. Nobody asked me to account for every minute. Nobody went cold because I’d spoken to a man for too long.Diana dropped a burned marshmallow onto my plate. “Welcome back to how normal people spend a weekend.”I laughed, and my phone started vibrating before the sound had faded.[Who are you with?][Why did you turn off your location?][Who’s the man sitting next to you?][Why aren’t you answering your phone?]At ten, Diana posted a group picture in the company chat. Evan, one of our engineers, was in the shot with one hand on the back of my chair because it h

Everyone we knew began liking the picture.Some asked when Damian and Sofia planned to go public. Others congratulated her for finally getting what she wanted. Damian didn’t correct a single one of them.I looked once, put my phone away, and went back to organizing the Paris handover files.At one in the morning, the bedroom door opened. Damian stood in the doorway with his tie hanging loose and irritation darkening his eyes.“You saw my post?”“I did.”“And you’ve got nothing to ask me?”“Nothing.”He crossed the room and stared down at me. Before, I would’ve demanded to know when the photo was taken, why Sofia was pressed so close to him, and why he was letting the whole city assume they were together.Now I just wanted him to turn off the light.“If it bothers you that much, tell me to transfer her.”It sounded like a concession, but his tone made it an interrogation. If I asked, he would have proof that I was still jealous and still desperate to keep him. Then he could move Sofia t

The man beside me was Julian Leclerc, the lead architect on the hotel restoration.He looked from Damian to me. “Do you want me to call security?”“No.” I closed my laptop. “Give me ten minutes.”Julian didn’t play the hero or demand an explanation. He simply led the team out, pausing long enough to place his phone beside my hand. “Press speed dial one if you need me.”Damian watched him until the glass door closed. “Who is he?”“None of your business.”“He seems awfully comfortable with you.”“We work twelve-hour days together. Of course we’re comfortable.”“Quit this job.” Damian didn’t hesitate. “If you want to run major projects, I’ll give you a division at Moretti Holdings. Double the salary. Pick your own office.”I nearly laughed.He’d crossed four thousand miles and still hadn’t asked whether I liked my work. He was searching for a more expensive offer that would put me back where I belonged in his mind.“I earned the Paris project with my own résumé. It isn’t a vacation, and i

Eight months after leaving Chicago, I became Aster & Rowe’s European Regional Director.Paris hadn’t healed me by itself. What put me back on my feet were the meetings, the plans we tore apart and rebuilt, and every decision I made for myself.Julian had been the first person to recommend me for the Paris project. Two years earlier, he’d heard me speak at an industry conference and remembered my proposal for repurposing historic buildings. We hadn’t exchanged private contact information before meeting in Paris.He admired my work before he knew anything else about me.After Damian withdrew his security team, Julian never tried to take advantage of the empty space. He asked if I wanted dinner after late nights and left a meal for me when I said no. At a crosswalk, he might offer his hand, but he always waited for me to decide whether to take it.Three months later, I invited him to a movie. Six months later, we began dating.There were no fireworks, no ambushes, and no grand sacrifice d