Contract Marriage: The President's Stand-in Lover - Chapter 26:

The Distance of Paris

October in Paris was cool and tender. Morning mist drifted lazily across the Seine,

soft as breath. Lin Vianne pushed open her window, from the café on the corner came

the sound of mellow jazz and the faint sweetness of fresh croissants.

It was her third week in this city.

A new company, a new apartment everything unfamiliar,

yet for the first time in years, she could finally breathe.

She had cut her hair short. She no longer wore heavy makeup or cared about

perfection reflected in someone else’s eyes. Every morning she went to class alone.

After work, she would walk by the river, watching the sunset spill gold across the water,

whispering to herself that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t so bad.

But at night, when the city quieted, she sometimes woke from dreams trembling. In those dreams,

Gu Chen would be there—silent, watching her, reaching out his hand while

she stepped back into the dark.
When she woke, her palms were cold. Her heart burned.

She had thought time could heal anything.

But some loves are like deep currents the harder you try to hold them down,

the more violently they rise.

That morning, her company assigned her to attend an international brand collaboration summit.

The event was held in a glass-walled conference hall beside the Louvre,

crowded with polished guests and camera flashes.

Vianne wore a simple black dress suit, her steps composed, her face calm.

Until halfway through the meeting, when the host’s voice echoed through the room.

Representing Gu Group from Country C… Mr. Gu Chen.

The world seemed to stop moving.

Under the bright stage lights, a tall, familiar figure walked slowly onto the platform.

He was in a charcoal-gray suit, his face as cold and handsome as she remembered

except for his eyes. They were darker now, heavier, hollowed by

something time could not smooth away.

Her fingers trembled faintly. She forced herself to lower her head,

jotting notes, pretending not to feel anything.

But every word he spoke, every pause between his sentences,

sliced through her chest like a quiet blade.

When the conference ended, she tried to slip away before the crowd thinned.

But at the turn of a corridor, she met him head-on.

For a heartbeat, the air froze.

Their eyes met, and a thousand unspoken words turned to silence.

Gu Chen’s voice was low, roughened. You’ve lost weight.

Her gaze dropped, her tone calm. Food in Paris isn’t very good.

You’ve been gone two months. His voice carried exhaustion,

a kind of raw ache that made her heart twitch before she could stop it.

Two months is short, President Gu. She deliberately emphasized the title.

I have ten more months of training left. After that, I might stay here to work.

He drew a slow breath, his eyes searching hers, heavy with something that hurt to look at.

How long are you planning to stay?

Maybe a lifetime.

The words landed between them like a door closing.

She turned to leave, but his hand reached out, stopping her.

Vianne, stop running away.

She froze for a few seconds, then lifted her eyes to him.

There was no anger there anymore, no bitterness only a kind of weary clarity.

Gu Chen, I’m not running. I’m finally walking the right path.

Her smile was faint, almost tender, but there was a finality in it that

broke something deep inside him.

This city has sunlight, and wind, and me.

Your world shouldn’t have me in it anymore.

She gently pulled her arm free and walked away without looking back.

Gu Chen stood there, watching her figure vanish into the golden wash of the Paris streets.

The wind swept past him, cool and sharp, brushing his fingertips

it felt like her touch when she left, soft yet merciless.

His voice came out as a whisper to no one.

But I’m still in your world, and I can’t find the way out.

That night, the Seine shimmered under the moonlight,

silver scattered like broken glass across its surface.

And on opposite ends of that luminous city, two hearts moved differently

one learning how to breathe again, the other learning how to live with regret.