Three minutes later—no one knew what Luna had said—Victor stood where he’d been left, hollow-eyed and lost.
Luna had turned, gotten into the car, and the car pulled away from the airport.
Daisy didn’t linger either; she took a cab from the other direction. Keane came up close and clapped Victor on the shoulder. “You okay?”
“What did she say, to leave you looking like that?”
He muttered it, also looking toward the road where Luna’s car had vanished.
“Go.” Victor dropped a single word.
Keane blinked: “Where to?”
Before the echo had died, Victor was already walking away from him, toward the underground parking garage.
The two of them got in, and Victor drove out of the airport.
In the car, Keane in the passenger seat felt the atmosphere turn strange and ventured: “You’re really okay?”
“What did Luna actually say to you?”
“We have a three-year-old daughter.” Victor cut him off suddenly, his voice unnervingly calm.
Keane’s eyes went huge. He whipped his head around. “You what? You and she have a child? Three years old?”
“…Three? Then that would be—”
Whatever else Keane meant to say died under a single look from Victor.
——
On the other side of the city, Luna drove home, parked in the underground garage, and lifted Charlotte out of the back seat.
“Mommy, why did that uncle who looks like Daddy chase us just now?”
Luna paused for an instant, stroked her head, and soothed her with a soft smile: “Sweetheart, let’s go home first, okay?”
She didn’t answer the question directly. On the other side of the car her mother got out too, pulling Luna’s suitcase from the trunk.
Then she spread her hands, laughing helplessly: “My apologies. I never imagined it would be that convenient—first time picking you up from the airport, and I run straight into that man.”
At that Luna tilted her head, equally helpless, drawing out a long “Mooom.”
Lynne propped one hand on the car door, the other on her hip, and asked patiently:
“My darling Luna. We’re back in New York, and you went and took a job at Qiaoling Airlines—the very company where you’re most likely to run into that man Victor. What exactly are you planning?”
Luna pressed her lips together—but before she could speak, Charlotte poked her little head out, turned sideways, eyes round with innocent wonder, and asked Lynne:
“Grandma… who’s V… who’s Victor?”
Lynne said nothing, just arched a brow and pressed her lips at Luna, her expression saying: you see?
Luna collected herself, turned Charlotte’s head back around, and answered gently: “Sweetheart, how about we go to the amusement park tomorrow?”
Sure enough, Charlotte’s eyes lit up, her attention snatched away at once, little hands waving up and down in delight.
The three of them got settled at home. Charlotte sat on the rug playing with building blocks while Luna sat beside her.
At seven thirty in the evening, the sun had just slipped behind the far hills, the sky still blue shot through with beautiful violet.
Luna had just handed Charlotte a bottle of water when the phone on the sofa rang insistently.
She walked over and picked it up, glancing at the screen—“Daisy”—then swiped to answer.
“Luna! The company just announced it—crew dinner tomorrow night, eight o’clock!”
Daisy’s excited voice came through the moment the call connected.
Luna arched a brow. “A dinner?”
“Yes! Oh, and… Captain Victor will probably be there too…” Daisy added in a small voice, as the thought struck her.
At that, Luna’s eyes lowered. “Got it. Call me tomorrow.”
She hung up and looked down at Charlotte, entertaining herself on the blanket and giggling at her own games.
Suddenly, a scene from three years ago flashed through her mind…
Victor’s mother, Mrs. Mida, had come to the house while he was away on a trip and she was on leave.
In the home Luna shared with Victor, Mida sat on the sofa across from her, every inch the adversary.
She looked Luna up and down with cool disdain, then drew a card from her bag with a mocking smile, laid it on the coffee table, and said coldly: “You aren’t worthy of him.”
“I’ll give you two choices. Take the money and leave.”
“…Or I will make sure you can never work in aviation again—and make sure Victor can never hold his head up in that boardroom.”
At the second half, Luna’s eyes narrowed on her.
“He’s your son,” she answered flatly.
Mida laughed softly. “He is my son, it’s true. But he is hardly my only son.”
Luna went still, unable to believe what she’d just heard.
Mida found her reaction amusing, and added: “Surprised?”
“Everything I ‘know how to do,’ I learned from his late father.”
Luna couldn’t say another word. She had never known how little she understood about Victor.
There were corners of his world she had never truly entered…
And at the same time, Mida’s words made her heart ache for him—the boy the whole world saw as a golden child, raised in a household like that…
After Mida left, Luna sat alone on the living room sofa for a long, long time. In the end, hard-hearted, she made up her mind to leave.
The next day, when Victor came back from his trip, she handed him the divorce agreement directly. She had thought he would at least ask why. Instead…
Without a word, he signed it.
“Mommy! What’s wrong?” Charlotte’s voice cut suddenly into her memories.
Luna came back to herself, set the phone down, and sat on the rug, gently smoothing the little girl’s hair, saying warmly:
“Mommy’s fine. Come on, let’s build a tower.”
Charlotte nodded, obedient.
——
At night, in bed, Luna glanced over at Charlotte beside her—already asleep—then turned onto her side and picked up her phone.
The screen lit. She opened her photo album and scrolled to a picture, its glow on her face, the figures in it reflected in her eyes.
It was her and Victor, taken a little over three years ago.
Back before they were married. After what happened that night, he had honored his word and taken responsibility.
From that day on, he’d courted her like any proper suitor.
Face, figure, bearing—impeccable. A gentleman, restrained, tender and attentive. How could she have withstood a siege like that? She’d surrendered—and just like that, they were a couple.
This photo was taken in Hawaii, against the sunset and the sea.
In it, his arm was around her shoulders, a kiss landing on her cheek—and the shutter caught exactly that instant.
Luna stared at it for a long while, a smile surfacing on her lips without her noticing. Then her fingertip swiped to the next photo.
This one was Victor alone in his captain’s uniform—sharp, refined features, those eyes fixed on the camera, almost aggressive in their intensity.
“Mommy…” A soft murmur came suddenly from behind her.
Then she felt a small hand tugging at her waist: Charlotte had crawled up out of the covers and dropped her head onto Luna’s arm, bleary eyes following hers to the phone screen.
Before Luna could react, the little one’s sharp eyes found Victor’s photo on the screen, and a small finger pointed at it:
“Hey… that’s the uncle who chased me and Mommy today!”
Luna snapped out of it, killed the screen, tossed the phone to the pillow, and sat up, gathering Charlotte, half-sprawled across her, into her arms.
“Why isn’t my baby asleep yet?”
Fully awake now, eyes rolling mischievously, the little one pouted and wheedled: “Mommy, I want… I want you to hold me… while I sleep.”
The words were barely mumbled out before she planted a smacking kiss on the side of Luna’s cheek.
Luna melted on the spot, kissed her forehead, and answered with a soft smile:
“All right. Mommy will hold our little princess to sleep.”
Once Charlotte had drifted into dreamland, Luna laid her down, rose, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, arms crossed, gaze unfocused on the rivers of traffic below.
“Luna… what is it that you actually want…”
She murmured it to herself, barely a breath.
——