Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Six years later
Freya arrived at the A country airport, already past nine o’clock.
Today was her birthday.
When she turned on her phone, she received a pile of birthday wishes from colleagues and friends in the tech industry where she’d built a reputation as an AI development pioneer.
There wasn’t a single message from Matteo.
Freya’s smile faded as she stared at the screen. She had pushed aside critical work on her neural network launch to come to Country A, hoping to spend her special day with her family after two months of separation.
By the time she reached their villa, it was already past ten o’clock.
The maid Sara saw her and was stunned: “Madam… why are you here?”
“Where are Matteo and Bella?” Freya asked, setting down her designer bag.
“Master hasn’t returned yet, and Miss is playing in her room.”
Freya handed her luggage to Sara and went upstairs.
She found Isabella sitting in her pajamas at a small table, concentrating intently on something, so focused that she didn’t even notice someone entering the room.
“Bella?”
Hearing her voice, Isabella turned her head and happily called out: “Mommy!”
Then she turned back to her task.
Freya wanted to hug her, but was immediately pushed away: “Mommy, I’m busy.”
She hadn’t seen her daughter in two months and missed her terribly, wanting nothing more than to hold and kiss her. But seeing Isabella so concentrated, she didn’t want to interrupt.
“Are you making a shell necklace?” Freya asked.
“Mm–hmm!” Isabella’s eyes lit up: “In a week, it will be Aunt Raven’s birthday. This is a birthday gift I’m making with Dad for Aunt Raven! We carefully polished these shells together using special tools. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Freya’s throat tightened at the mention of Raven–Matteo’s new marketing director who had joined the company a year ago. Before she could speak, she heard her daughter say cheerfully with her back turned, “Dad also customized other gifts for Aunt Raven. Tomorrow-”
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Freya’s heart constricted, and she couldn’t hold back anymore. “Bella… do you remember Mommy’s birthday?”
“Huh? What?” Isabella glanced up at her, then looked back down at the beads in her hands, complaining, “Mom, don’t talk to me, you’re making me lose track of the bead order-”
Freya released her embrace and fell silent.
She stood there for a long time. Seeing that her daughter didn’t look up at her once, Freya pressed her lips together and left the room without a word.
Sara saw her and said, “Madam, I just called the Master. He said he has something tonight and asked you to rest
first.”
“I understand.”
Freya responded, then remembering her daughter’s words, she paused before calling Matteo.
It took a while before he answered, his voice distant, “I’m busy, tomorrow we can-”
“Matteo, who is it this late?” It was a woman’s voice. Raven’s voice.
Freya gripped her phone tightly.
“Nothing.”
Before Freya could speak, Matteo had already hung up.
They hadn’t seen each other for two or three months. She had finally managed to come to Country A, and he couldn’t even spare time to come home to see her.
Even for a phone call, he didn’t have the patience to let her finish speaking…
Throughout the past year, he had grown increasingly cold and distant toward her. The attentive, loving Matteo who had swept her off her feet had been gradually replaced by someone who seemed perpetually distracted, impatient–someone who reminded her more and more of Jasper.
She had told herself it was just the stress of the expansion. That once things settled down, he would return to being the man she married. But deep down, she had recognized the familiar patterns emerging–the late nights, the canceled plans, the way his eyes lingered a little too long on Raven during company meetings.
In the past, she would have called him again, patiently asking where he was and if he could come back, desperate to preserve the relationship she had fought so hard to build.
Today, perhaps because she was too tired, she suddenly didn’t have the energy to do so anymore.
The next morning, after some thought, she still called Matteo.
There was a seventeen to eighteen–hour time difference between Country A and home. In Country A, today was her birthday.
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This time, she came to Country A not only because she desperately wanted to see her daughter and Matteo but also because she hoped their family of three could have a nice meal together on this special day.
That was her birthday wish this year.
Matteo didn’t answer the call.
After a long while, he only sent a message: [Something up?]
Freya: [Are you free for lunch? Could we have a meal together with Bella, just the three of us?]
[Alright, let me know once you’ve decided on the location.]
Freya: [Okay.]
After that, there was complete silence from Matteo.
He hadn’t remembered it was her birthday today.
Although Freya had mentally prepared herself, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
After finishing her morning routine, just as she was about to go downstairs, she heard her daughter talking with
Sara below.
“Is the Young Miss unhappy about Madam’s visit?”
“Dad and I already promised to go to the beach with Aunt Raven tomorrow. If Mom suddenly comes along with us, it would be so awkward.”
“And Mom is so mean, always being harsh to Aunt Raven-”
“Young Miss, Madam is your mother. You shouldn’t say such things, you know it would break your mother’s heart.”
“I know, but Dad and I like Aunt Raven better. Why can’t I have Aunt Raven as my mom?”
…
11
Whatever else Sara said, Freya could no longer hear it.
She had raised her daughter single–handedly, but in the past year, as father and daughter spent more time together in Country A, Isabella had grown more attached to Matteo.
When Matteo came to Country A to expand the market, Isabella had insisted on coming along despite Freya’s initial reluctance to be separated from her daughter.
She hadn’t wanted to let go, naturally hoping Isabella would stay by her side. But she was even more unwilling to see her daughter unhappy, so she had agreed.
She never imagined that in just one year, she would become the outsider in her own family–her workdaunching the new AI neural network system keeping her anchored to their home country while Matteo and Isabella built a new
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life without her in Country A.
A life that increasingly included Raven.
Freya stood frozen in place, her face draining of color, motionless for a long while.
She had pushed aside work to come to Country A, hoping to spend more time with her daughter. Now it seemed there was no need for that anymore.
Freya returned to her room and put the gifts she’d brought from home back into her suitcase. Shortly after, Sara called to say she was taking Isabella out to play, telling her to call if she needed anything.
Freya sat on the bed, feeling empty and lost. She had dropped everything to rush here, yet no one really needed her. Her arrival felt like nothing but a joke.
