Chapter 122: Half a Smile
A week after the party.
I pushed the door open and found her exactly where I knew she’d be—curled on the couch, phone in hand, hair spilling down her shoulders in that careless way that looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. Duchess was sprawled on the armrest like she owned the entire apartment.
I dropped onto the couch beside Val, close enough that her knee brushed mine.
"Guess what?" I said.
She didn’t even look up right away. She just tapped at her screen, thumb moving fast, before pausing and turning her head toward me. Her eyes narrowed, suspicious but playful, the kind of look she only gave me when she thought she had me cornered.
"You finally want to propose," she said. Deadpan.
I blinked. "What? No. I mean—not yet."
Her lips curved, the tiniest smirk tugging at her mouth. "Mm-hm. If you say so."
"Val."
"What?" She tilted her head, feigning innocence. "You brought it up."
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the chuckle rumbling in my chest. "That’s not what I was going to say."
> "Then what?"
I took a breath, letting the suspense stretch a little longer. "I got a job offer."
That snapped her upright. Her phone dropped into her lap as her entire expression flipped—eyes widening, grin spreading so fast it could’ve lit up the whole room.
> "No way."
"Yes way," I said, trying not to grin too hard myself. "Gray & Milton. Entry-level Financial Analyst."
"Gray & Milton?" she repeated, like she was making sure she’d heard me right.
"Yeah."
Her mouth fell open. Then it snapped shut, only to fall open again. "Kai. That’s—, that’s huge. That’s, like, Gray & Milton. People fight to even get interviews there."
I shrugged, trying to play it cool, even though my chest was about to burst. "Guess they liked me."
She smacked my arm, eyes blazing in that way they did when she was too proud to sit still. "Liked you? No. They wanted
you. Oh my god, Kai, do you know what this means?""I get to wear a suit every day and hate my life in style?"
She rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out. Then she grabbed my face in both hands and kissed me hard, her smile breaking against my lips. "I’m so proud of you," she whispered, forehead pressed to mine.
"Congratulations, husband," she whispered as she pulled back.
I laughed, breathless. "Thanks."
"Soon you’ll be able to get me that sub," she teased, eyes sparkling.
I froze for half a second.
Her head tilted, a small frown tugging at her lips. "Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten."
"Never," I said quickly.
"Good." She poked my chest before grabbing her phone again.
Right then, Duchess hopped down from the armrest with the kind of smug grace only cats could pull off. She meowed once—long and dramatic—then circled in front of us like she was auditioning for attention. Finally, she plopped herself right on Val’s lap, tail flicking as if to say this is my throne now.
I pointed. "She’s fat."
"You mean perfect," Val shot back without missing a beat.
"She waddles when she walks."
"She struts," Val corrected firmly.
"She begs."
> "She communicates."
I snorted. "She’s spoiled."
Val smirked. "She’s loved."
I shook my head, the corner of my mouth tugging despite myself. "You haven’t changed. Not even a little."
Her grin widened instantly, sharp and smug. "Exactly. And that’s why you love me."
Duchess’s purred like she was backing her up.
Val’s grin didn’t fade. "We should celebrate."
I blinked at her. "Didn’t your parents just throw a whole party last week?"
"That was for graduation," she said, rolling her eyes like I’d just asked the dumbest question alive. "This is for you. A job, Kai. That’s huge."
I was still smiling... but then the thought slipped out before I could stop it.
"What about you?"
Her eyes flicked up. "What about me?"
"You’re obviously going to work in your dad’s company, right?"
The words hung there for a second. Too casual. Too assuming.
Her smile faltered. Just a little. Almost unnoticeable if I hadn’t been staring right at her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, gaze sliding away.
"Well..." She hesitated. "My dad wants me to... go get my master’s."
I froze. "Oh."
She gave a small nod, still not meeting my eyes.
I swallowed, forcing the next words out with a smile that didn’t quite reach. "That’s actually pretty cool."
> "Yeah."
She went quiet, her eyes dipping back to her phone. Her thumbs moved absently, scrolling, but I could tell her focus wasn’t really on the screen.
Silence stretched between us. Duchess purred louder, as if to fill the gap we couldn’t.
I leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling like the answer might be written up there.
A master’s. Another two years, maybe more. Maybe abroad. Maybe not. I didn’t know. And she hadn’t said.
All I knew was the sudden weight in my chest, heavy and uneasy, like the floor had shifted just slightly beneath us.
I told myself it was fine. That it didn’t matter. That we’d figure it out the same way we always did.
But that smile I’d forced earlier—it didn’t reach my eyes. And I think she noticed.
---
Dinner was quiet. Too quiet.
We’d never been the silent type. If Val wasn’t talking, I was. If I wasn’t talking, Duchess was meowing for food. But that night, the clatter of forks against plates was the loudest thing between us.
I stole glances at her across the table. She kept her eyes on her plate, stabbing at her vegetables like they’d offended her. Not once did she look up.
Finally, I forced my voice to sound lighter than I felt.
"So..." I started, pushing the rice around my plate. "Where’s this master’s happening? Harvard? Or are you aiming for something even fancier?"
Her fork stilled mid-air. Then, slowly, she said, "London. My dad’s been talking to someone at LSE."
London.
Of course. The London School of Economics. Top tier. Prestigious. The kind of place that would kill for someone like her.
I forced a smile. "Nice. Can’t get much better than that."
And then I went back to my food. Like it was nothing. Like I wasn’t suddenly picturing airports, time zones, oceans between us.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her bite her lip. She set her fork down gently, like she was bracing herself. "Kai..."
"Mhm?" I didn’t look up this time. Couldn’t.
Her voice was careful, almost hesitant. "Are you... upset I didn’t say anything about it before?"
I finally looked at her. She was staring at me with those wide, searching eyes of hers, the ones that could unravel me in seconds.
I shook my head. "No. Why would I be?"
I said it smoothly, evenly. The kind of answer that was supposed to shut down a conversation. But Val knew me too well. She could hear the spaces between my words.
Her shoulders slumped slightly. "It’s not like I wanted to hide it. I just..." She trailed off, then added in a softer tone, "I didn’t know how to tell you."
And right there, that was Val. Overthinking. Carrying the weight of a decision like it was the end of the world. Probably imagining every possible way I could’ve reacted, every scenario in which she disappointed me. That was her curse—planning ten steps ahead even when it came to me.
I set my fork down and leaned back, finally meeting her gaze head-on. "Hey."
She blinked at me.
"You don’t need to overthink this. It’s you. It’s always been you. If anyone’s allowed to chase the biggest, craziest opportunities in the world, it’s you."
Her lips parted, like she wanted to say something, but I kept going before she could.
"And who knows," I added with a smirk I didn’t really feel, "by the time you’re back, I might’ve already bought you that submarine you keep going on about."
For a moment, she just stared at me. Then that slow, deliberate smile of hers spread across her face, the one that always meant trouble.
"How about," she said, lowering her voice like it was a secret, "sex after dinner as a bribe?"
I didn’t miss a beat. "Deal."
She burst into laughter, the sound echoing off the kitchen walls, warm and reckless. I chuckled too, shaking my head as if she were impossible. And maybe she was. But she was mine.
The air lightened again, just like that. We went back to eating, trading small glances, little smiles. Duchess jumped up onto a chair and meowed, unimpressed at being ignored, and Val reached over to pet her absentmindedly.
But the truth?
The truth was that no matter how many jokes I cracked, no matter how much I told her she didn’t need to worry, my own chest still felt tight. That submarine promise I made—sure, it made her laugh. It made her eyes soften. But it didn’t touch the gnawing doubt in the pit of my stomach.
Because even as we sat there, sharing dinner and laughter, I couldn’t shake the thought:
Nothing I said tonight had actually reassured me.
---
To be continued...