Billionaire by Separation

Second Chance At Sunrise Suzhou City felt colder than usual that morning, even though the sun was already shining above the tall buildings. Inside Maple Leaf Café, soft music played in the background, but the air around one corner table felt tense and heavy. Ethan Chen sat across from Vivian Fang, who wore large sunglasses and a face mask that covered most of her face. Even with her face hidden, she looked like someone used to cameras and public attention. “You finally decided to show up,” Vivian said in a low but sharp voice. A few customers nearby turned their heads to look at them. They saw a stylish woman and a simply dressed man sitting across from each other in stiff silence. The silence between them felt stronger than raised voices. Ethan folded his hands on the table and kept his voice calm. “Can we wait until Lily is older before we do this?” he asked. His eyes looked tired, even though he tried to stay steady. He was thinking about his daughter and how small she still was. Vivian let out a slow breath and leaned forward. She asked how long he expected her to wait and whether he would have come at all if she had not mentioned custody. She said that if people found out she was married, everything she worked for would fall apart. Her voice grew lower when she noticed others watching, but her tone stayed firm. Ethan did not answer right away. He thought about Lily’s tiny hands and how she held onto him when she slept at night. He thought about the way she smiled when he picked her up from school. He wondered how he could explain divorce to a child so young. Vivian took a document from her bag and placed it on the table. She said she wanted the divorce now. Ethan nodded once and agreed without arguing. He said he wanted only one thing, and that was Lily.

Disclaimer: This show may contain expletives, strong language, and mature content for adult listeners, including sexually explicit content and themes of violence. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real persons, businesses, places or events is coincidental. This show is not intended to offend or defame any individual, entity, caste, community, race, religion or to denigrate any institution or person, living or dead. Listener's discretion is advised.Less