It was rare to see her without the structured tailoring of her public persona. "You're going to freeze," she said, stepping up to the glass railing beside him. Just getting some air. Agaton took a sip of the bourbon. He didn't offer her any.
They weren't celebrating. Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. It wasn't the sterile silence of their early days. It was the loaded, suffocating silence of two people who knew exactly what needed to be said and lacked the courage to say it. "Diane drew up the press release," Crystal said finally.
Her voice was flat, devoid of its usual commanding edge. Amicable separation, growing apart due to demanding careers. "We remain deeply committed to co-parenting Lucinda. It's standard, clean. The stock won't even take a hit.
Efficient," Agaton replied, staring straight ahead. Just like the supply chain, Crystal gripped the metal railing. Her knuckles went white. "Your lawyers reviewed the settlement, the alimony, the housing transfer. "They did.
It's more than generous, Crystal. I don't need the alimony. My salary is fine. "Take it," she snapped, a flash of sudden anger breaking her composure. "It's in the contract.
Right. the contract. Agaton turned to look at her. The wind whipped her dark hair around her face. She looked exhausted, just like she had the night they met at the gala. Is that all this is to you?
We executed the deliverables, achieved the KPIs, and now we closed the account. Crystal didn't look at him. She kept her eyes fixed on the distant lights of the city. That was the agreement, Agaton. I bought 2 years of your life to save my company.
You sold it to save your daughter. It was a transaction. It was successful. "I know what the agreement was," Agaton said, stepping closer. The cold air felt sharp in his lungs.
"I'm asking what this is now. She let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Now? Now you get your life back. You get to find a woman who actually knows how to be a wife.
Someone who doesn't schedule dinner via an executive assistant. Someone who isn't married to a logistics empire. I didn't ask for a different wife. Crystal froze. She finally turned her head to look at him.
Her pale blue eyes were wide, defensive. Don't do that, she warned, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. Don't rewrite the narrative, Agaton. We are co-workers who share a living space. We put on a good show.
That's it. It hasn't been a show for a year, Crystal. And you know it. Agaton wasn't backing down. He was done being the calm water.
He let the frustration, the pent up emotion of the last 24 months bleed into his voice. When Lucinda got the flu in April, you sat on the bathroom floor with us at 2:00 in the morning. That wasn't for the board. When my mother died, you didn't send flowers. You chartered a plane and stood next to me at a graveside in Ohio in the pouring rain.
That wasn't in Diane's press packet. Crystal looked away, her jaw tight. I was protecting my investment. A grieving VP is a distraction. "Bullshit,", Agaton fired back.
You care. You actually care. And it terrifies you. Of course it terrifies me, Crystal shouted, turning fully toward him. The ice completely shattered.
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. My entire life, the only thing that hasn't betrayed me, left me, or tried to ruin me is that company. I know how to control the company. I know how to fix a broken supply chain. I don't know how to fix it when your daughter cries.
I don't know how to be the person you look at when you come home. She took a shaky breath, wrapping her arms around herself, suddenly looking very small on the massive empty balcony. You are a good man, Agaton. You are a devoted father. You deserve a real family, not not a CEO who views affection as a liability.
Agaton watched her. The armor was gone. The billionaire was gone. All that was left was a deeply lonely woman standing in the cold, trying to push away the only real thing in her life before it could hurt her. He set his bourbon glass down on the small patio table.
He closed the distance between them, reaching out and gently taking her icy hands, pulling them away from her chest. "I don't want a different family," Agaton said, his voice quiet, steady, and entirely absolute. "Lucinda doesn't want a different family. She asked me this morning if we were taking you with us to the new house. I didn't know what to tell her.
Crystal stared at his hands holding hers. "You bought a house? "I did. Four bedrooms, big backyard, terrible commute. Agaton looked down at her.
It's got a home office, big enough for two desks. A single tear escaped Crystal's eye, tracking quickly down her cheek. She didn't pull away. "The board will think it's a stunt," she whispered, her voice cracking. "If we stay together after the contract ends, they'll think we're hiding something.
"To hell with the board," Agaton said. Harrison Blake is gone. The Caldwells are gone. You own this company, Crystal. You don't have to perform for them anymore.
You don't have to perform for me. He stepped closer. The warmth of his body shielding her from the wind. He didn't kiss her. It wasn't a movie.
It was real life, messy, and complicated. He just held her hands, anchoring her. Two years ago, you offered me a lifeline. Agaton said, "Let me offer you one. Rip up the press release.
Cancel the movers. Let's just try. Not as a PR strategy, just us. Crystal looked up at him. The fear was still there in her eyes, deeply ingrained and hard to shake.
But beneath the fear, there was something else, a desperate, quiet relief. She let out a long, shaky breath. The tension that had defined her posture for 2 years seemed to evaporate into the freezing air. She squeezed his hands, her grip firm. no longer a corporate handshake, but a lifeline of her own. "Okay," Crystal said softly.
She managed a small, genuine smile that reached her eyes. "But I'm not commuting from Bellevue every day. We keep the penthouse. Agaton laughed, a real unburdened sound that carried out over the dark water of the sound. "Deal, we'll use the house for weekends.
He finally let go of her hands, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight, warm embrace. Crystal stiffened for a fraction of a second before melting against his chest, burying her face in his shoulder. The cold wind howled around them, but for the first time in years, neither of them felt it. The contract was officially void. The marriage was just beginning.