"Well, the biggest one is realizing that I've lived my entire life trying to anticipate the fears of my parents-trying to be that perfect daughter at all costs, never putting a wrong foot forward, never speaking to the press. And look where that's gotten me? By trying to hide behind that façade of perfection, by trying to always keep my personal life and my relationships so goddamn private, I've actually done far more damage than if I'd just lived my life the way I wanted to in the first place!"
Charlie nodded, a little relieved. "I couldn't agree more, actually. To me, it's always seemed like you've lived your whole life in the shadows. You're so much smarter and more talented than anyone's ever given you credit for, and I've always thought you were in the perfect position to be doing so much more."
"Do you know how many things I've wanted to do that have been shot down by my parents? When I graduated from college and got that great job offer from Yves Saint Laurent in Paris, they told me to come home. Then they wouldn't let me start my own fashion business-it was just too common for them. Then when I wanted to work for certain very unfashionable causes, like the horrific problem of human trafficking and child prostitution in Southeast Asia, they wouldn't hear of it. The only acceptable thing for Astrid Leong to do is serve on the board of certain well-vetted institutions, and even those had to be on one of the super-private committees, nothing that would put me in the public eye. It's like my family has lived for generations so frightened of their own wealth, of the fact that someone might accuse us of being rich, of being vulgar and showy. To me, it's our wealth that puts us in the fortunate position of being able to do an enormous amount of good in the world, not hide from the world!"
Charlie clapped his hands excitedly. "So come back, Astrid. Come back with me and we can do this together. I know you were in a completely different head space when you wrote me that letter, so I'm going to forget you ever wrote it. I want us to be together. I want you to be my wife, to live your life and be exactly the woman you want to be."
Astrid looked away for a moment, staring up at the beautiful white villa gleaming in the sun. "It's not that simple … I don't know if I'm ready to return yet. I think I need to repair myself for a while longer before I can face the world I left behind."
"Astrid! The world you left behind has changed so much. Can I please tell you what's been happening? I think it will help," Charlie pleaded.
Astrid took a deep breath. "Okay, tell me what you want to tell me."
"Well first of all, Isabel is out of her coma, and it looks like she's on her way to a great recovery. She's suffered quite a bit of memory loss, and she has no clue what happened to her that night, but she's going to be okay."
"Thank God," Astrid muttered, closing her eyes.
"The other big thing that you need to know is that Michael has signed your divorce papers with no contest."
"What?" Astrid sat up in her chair, completely shocked. "How did this happen?"
"Well, it's quite a tangled story, but let's start with the leaked video. It turns out that Isabel was the one who had the video first, not Michael. She had us under surveillance all along. The paparazzi tailing us in India, the video of us in my bedroom, that was all her doing."
Astrid shook her head in disbelief. "How did she do all this?"
Charlie smiled. "You're never going to believe it. You know that raggy old stuffed giraffe that Delphine has?"
"Yes! The one she can't sleep without every night?"
"It was a gift from Isabel, and it turns out there was a very sophisticated camera and recording device implanted inside."
"Oh my God … "
"Delphine would drag the damn stuffed animal with her between both houses, so Isabel always knew my every move. And she got the footage of us completely by accident, because Delphine had slept in my room the night before you came over and left the giraffe on the chest at the foot of my bed."
"No wonder the footage was shot from such a weird angle!" Astrid said with a little laugh. "But how in the world did she get this sophisticated nanny cam made?"
"Michael helped her. They were in cahoots all along. It came out after Isabel's suicide attempt, and the police got involved investigating the source of the video clip on her phone."
Astrid shook her head sadly. "So they ganged up … the two bitter ex-spouses."
"Yep. But their little partnership is also the silver lining in all this. I flew to Singapore a few weeks ago and had a nice long chat with Michael. I told him he could withdraw the lawsuit, sign the divorce papers, and go on enjoying his life as a billionaire bachelor, or he could do the following: First, he could go to jail for aiding and abetting Isabel in her illegal surveillance. Second, he could go to jail for extortion, since he stupidly sent you the video with that text message demanding $5 billion. And third, he could go to jail for being linked to the malicious leak of the video. By the time the Singapore court system is done with all the charges that I would bring against him, he could very well spend the rest of his life in Changi Prison, or worse, he could be extradited to Hong Kong and then sent to a prison camp in Northeast China, near the Russian border, where guys that look as pretty as he does end up having a very sore time."