Half His Wealth
Half His Wealth
“I didn’t expect to run into you here either.”
Because she never felt especially close or compatible with Sophia, Freya hadn’t told her anything about her work. Their usual conversations were just idle chatter, so she assumed this really was just a coincidence.
“I just got to the set today–I’m here for a cameo. Didn’t think I’d hear right away that you were here too, and that you were injured,” Sophia said, looking full of concern. “I was going to check in on you once I finished things up. How are you? Was it serious? If you were hurt, you should’ve taken time to rest–what’s the rush in coming back?”
“I’m alright. I took a day off, and the wound doesn’t hurt much now, so it’s manageable. I just didn’t want to hold up the crew, so I came over as soon as I could.”
Sophia nodded, then turned with a dramatic pause, as if just noticing Louis. She acted like she’d only now realized he was there.
“Oh, this must be… I think he’s your husband, right? Mr. Graham, long time no see.”
Freya found it a bit awkward but still smiled. “Yes, this is my husband, Louis.”
Louis‘ eyes lit with a smile the moment he heard her introduce him like that. Sophia missed the moment entirely; she hadn’t been looking.
“Louis–oh, the CEO behind that wildly popular VR MMO!” Sophia looked from Louis to Freya in amazement. “Freya, I can’t believe you’re married to the head of RealitySplit Group! I always thought you were just an ordinary person–but clearly, not even close!”
Freya’s smile faded a little. “Even if I’m the CEO’s wife, I’m still just a regular person. My husband’s company doesn’t really have anything to do with me.”
What she meant was to discourage people from getting ideas about her, hoping to avoid any trouble down the line. She didn’t like how Sophia had blurted out her identity so loudly, though she figured it wasn’t intentional, so she didn’t press it.
But Louis didn’t take it the same way. He looked at her seriously and said,
“Whatever wealth I have–half of it is yours.”
Freya froze, caught between/laughter and tears; the words touched her deeply. She shook her head and said,
“You worked so hard to build your business–how could I just take half without doing anything? I trust you’d never let me go hungry. As for the money, that’s your call. You don’t have to make any special arrangements for me.”
Standing to the side, Sophia felt a pang of jealousy so sharp it almost took her breath away, All because of Edward’s request, Louis was treating Freya like this. That was half of his assets –an unimaginable amount.
And if they didn’t divorce soon, Louis‘ wealth would only grow. That would mean Freya stood to walk away with even more of it.
What made it worse was seeing how good Freya had become at pretending. She actually claimed she didn’t care about money. Someone like her, pretending money didn’t matter- what a joke.
If Sophia hadn’t already confirmed with the system that Freya hadn’t been replaced, she’d have thought someone had transmigrated into her or that she’d been reborn:
But now she suddenly felt uneasy. In her mind, she called out to the system. System, are you there? Are you really sure Freya hasn’t been replaced or reincarnated? She seems so different. That doesn’t sound like something her character would ever say!
The system replied, “Confirmed! No replacement, no reincarnation. I told you already, her main storyline was in the first novel. When that story ended, so did her arc. What happens after a story ends can’t be predicted–once the story ends, characters don’t have set personas anymore.”
Sophia was as bitter as could be. But this was a rare chance to run into Louis, and she couldn’t afford to waste it.
“Didn’t expect you and Mr. Graham to be so in love, Freya,” she said, trying to probe.
Freya instinctively didn’t want to talk about her relationship in front of Sophia. “We’re fine. Isn’t that how most married couples are?”
Sophia, still smiling, turned to Louis. “Mr. Graham, did you come here especially to take care of Freya?”
Louis didn’t answer. Instead, he looked to Freya. When he was a kid, his father had told him about something. Never cut in when women are talking, especially when it’s your wife and her friend. Let them handle it.
“He happened to be here when I got hurt–he was about to leave anyway.” Freya gestured toward him. “If you’re busy, you should head out.”
