Chapter 7
CHRIS
Icouldn’t shake the tension in my shoulders as I packed my suitcase the next morning.
Beth and I had barely spoken since our argument.
She was avoiding me, hiding behind walls I couldn’t seem to break down.
It left a hollow ache inside me. She was still my wife, the woman I had promised to love and support, but it felt like we had grown into different people who just happened to share the same last name.
As I zipped the last piece of luggage closed, my mind drifted back to her words.
I need to figure out who I am outside of us.
I had tried to dismiss it as something she’d get over, but now that I was about to leave, doubt nagged at me.
Was I underestimating how far she’d drifted?
How deep this went? It wasn’t just last night’s dinner or some fleeting moment of frustration, it was something that had been building over time.
And I hadn’t seen it, or worse, I hadn’t wanted to see it.
I walked into the living room to grab my briefcase from the side table, and my eyes landed on her.
She was sitting on the couch with one of those old notebooks open in her lap.
There was a quiet determination in her expression, a fire I hadn’t seen in a long time.
She wasn’t even paying attention to me, lost in her own world.
For a moment, it felt like I wasn’t even there.
Her focus was on those pages, and the distance between us stretched wide in that stillness.
My phone buzzed, pulling my attention away.
Jessica
Car’s waiting downstairs. Flight leaves in an hour. We’re going to have to go over the presentations on the way. Be there soon.
I sighed and slid my phone into my jacket pocket. Beth glanced up as I grabbed my bag. “I’ve got to go. The car’s here.”
Beth didn’t say anything at first, just stared at me like she was trying to read something in my face I couldn’t see myself. Then, finally, she nodded, closing the notebook but not setting it aside. “Have a safe trip,” she said, her voice distant.
“Thanks. I’ll call you when I land,” I offered, though the words felt mechanical.
She gave another small nod, her gaze already flicking back to the notebook.
I hesitated for a second, part of me wanting to reach out and pull her close, to say something that might bridge the widening gap, but I didn’t know what that would even be.
So instead, I turned and walked to the door, feeling like I was leaving behind something I wasn’t sure how to get back.
The car ride to the airport was just me, the hum of the city passing by the windows, and Jessica talking business.
She was already deep into a breakdown of the upcoming meetings, laying out projections, key points to hit, the usual prep work we did before a big trip.
My mind kept drifting, though, replaying Beth’s words, her expression, the silence that had swallowed me when I left.
I wanted to push it aside and focus on the deal ahead, but the unease clung to me.
“You’re quiet today,” Jessica remarked, glancing over at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, “Just tired.”
She smirked. “You don’t seem tired, more like distracted. Everything good at home?” There was a slight edge to her question, the kind that told me she’d been paying attention to the little cracks forming between me and Beth.
“Just fine,” I replied, not interested in digging deeper. Jessica didn’t push it, turning her focus back to her tablet.
We boarded the private jet, and I settled into my usual seat by the window, staring out at the tarmac as the engines hummed to life.
My mind kept circling back to Beth. Maybe she did need this time, but what was I going to do when I got back?
How could I make this work when she was clearly pulling away from everything I had built?
I had always believed we were a team, even if she hadn’t fully embraced my world. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
The flight was smooth, and Jessica wasted no time diving back into the presentation slides we’d need to go over.
She sat across the aisle from me, tapping away on her tablet, occasionally throwing a glance my way when she needed my opinion.
I tried to concentrate, to lose myself in the work, but my thoughts kept slipping away, like trying to grab smoke.
There was an invisible knot in my chest that tightened each time I thought of Beth sitting alone in that penthouse with her old dreams spread out across her lap.
It wasn’t until we were an hour into the flight, halfway to New York, that I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the screen for a moment. Beth had sent a text.
Take care of yourself. I’m thinking.
That was all it said, and it made my chest tighten even more. She wasn’t asking when I’d be back. She wasn’t even wishing me luck. Just a quiet, simple message that felt like a door slowly closing.
Jessica noticed my expression and glanced up from her tablet. “Something wrong?”
“No, just Beth.” I showed her the message.
Jessica’s lips thinned into a frown. “She’s been on edge lately. You sure you don’t need to deal with that before we go into these meetings?”
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’ll be fine. We always figure it out.”
Jessica shrugged, not looking convinced, but she didn’t push further. “Just don’t let it distract you. We need to be on our A game for this trip.”
She was right. I forced myself to put my phone away and turn back to the tablet in front of me.
I needed to focus on the work, the meetings, the investors.
This trip could be huge for Lewis Enterprises, and I couldn’t let personal issues bleed into that.
I had always kept the two separate, always made sure the board saw the version of me that was focused and sharp, not the version that went home to a strained marriage.
But the weight of it all felt heavier than ever.
The plane touched down at our first destination, the wheels hitting the runway with a jolt that pulled me out of my thoughts.
The next few days were packed. Meetings, dinners, and strategy sessions.
We were set to visit key investors across the country, trying to rally support for the new acquisition Jessica’s family was backing.
It was the kind of business that kept me sharp, and it should have been enough to distract me from everything going on at home, but even as I stepped off the jet, I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind.
We moved straight into the first meeting after landing, and Jessica, as usual, was flawless.
She commanded the room, spoke with confidence and precision.
I found myself leaning on her more than I used to, letting her take the lead in places where my mind was still wandering.
It was almost too easy to slip into the rhythm of work, where everything made sense.
At the same time, it felt like I was running from something.
That night, as I sat in the hotel bar after the long day of meetings, staring into the glass of whiskey in front of me, my mind kept circling back to Beth.
What was she doing right now? Was she still sitting with those old notebooks?
Was she thinking about us the same way I was?
It was a rare moment where I let my guard down enough to wonder if I had failed her somehow, if I had taken her for granted, if maybe her need for something more was a direct reflection of my shortcomings.
But the thought was quickly swept aside as Jessica walked in and took the seat across from me.
“You look like a man with too much on his mind,” she said, a teasing smile on her lips. “Still worrying about home?”
I took a sip of whiskey, the liquid burning just enough to ground me. “No. I’ve got it under control.”
Jessica’s smile softened as she leaned in slightly, her voice quieter. “Look, I get it. The whole balancing act can be tough sometimes. But at the end of the day, this is who you are. You’ve built an empire, and that’s not nothing. Don’t let anyone make you feel like it is.”
Her words should have comforted me, but they just felt empty in the moment.
Still, I nodded, because she was right in a way.
I had built all of this, and Beth had been part of it.
Or so I thought. I wasn’t sure where that left us now, but I forced myself to push it aside and raise my glass to Jessica.
“To sealing the deal,” I said.
“To sealing the deal.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she clinked her glass against mine.
Over the next few days, I kept that momentum going.
I threw myself into every meeting, every call, every dinner, letting the high stakes distract me.
It was a familiar pattern, one that had worked for years, but it didn’t feel as satisfying as it used to.
I kept waiting for the sense of clarity I usually found at the peak of a deal, but it never came.
Instead, there was a dull ache in the background that wouldn’t go away, no matter how many handshakes I shared or agreements I signed.
One evening, after a particularly intense investor dinner, I found myself standing in the hotel lobby, staring at my phone, thinking about calling Beth.
It was late, but I felt this need to hear her voice, to check in.
But I hesitated, unsure of what I’d say.
Would I ask if she missed me? Would she even tell me the truth?
Before I could decide, Jessica’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“We’re heading to the lounge for a nightcap. Coming?” She was with a small group from the meeting, all of them laughing as they made their way toward the bar.
I looked between them and the elevator that would take me up to my room, to the privacy of a call I wasn’t sure I wanted to make. “Yeah,” I said finally, sliding my phone back into my pocket. “I’ll join.”