Chapter 26: The Pen Name

Freya's weekend promotion exceeded expectations. By Monday morning, her novel had climbed another ranking, and her editor sent a message saying the platform wanted to extend its recommendation period. Freya stared at the statistics with satisfaction. The income estimate was finally large enough to feel real rather than symbolic.

She had chosen the pen name "F.S. Moon" because it revealed nothing about her identity. In her previous life, readers had known her by another pseudonym, and she had learned early that separating personal life from public attention made everything easier.

At breakfast, Louis noticed her smiling at her phone. "Ranking again?" "Number twelve in the new-release category." "Yesterday you were twenty-three." Freya looked surprised. "You remembered?" Louis continued eating as if the answer were obvious. "You explained the ranking system."

Freya turned her phone toward him. "Look at this retention rate. If it stays here, the editor thinks they'll give me another recommendation." Louis examined the screen seriously. "Your conversion from free readers to paying readers is improving."

She narrowed her eyes. "You've been researching web-fiction platforms." "A little." "Why?" "You talk about them constantly." Freya accepted that explanation, though she secretly found it amusing that a former billionaire had apparently spent time learning subscription fiction metrics.

Later that day, Louis met Derek at the private office. Instead of discussing Knox Group immediately, Derek placed his phone on the desk. "I found Freya's novel." Louis looked up. "Why were you looking?"

"I wasn't. My sister reads on that platform and mentioned a new story. She showed me the author page. The update schedule matched what Freya told us, so I checked." Derek grinned. "F.S. Moon. She's doing surprisingly well."

Louis picked up the phone and read the synopsis. "Don't tell her you found it." "Why?" "She didn't tell us the title for a reason." Derek raised both hands. "Fine. Privacy."

That evening, Louis quietly created an account on the platform. He found Freya's story but didn't interact with it. He simply read the first several chapters. The writing was polished, confident, and completely unlike anything he would have associated with the woman he had married three years ago.

More questions appeared. Cooking could have been hidden. Household skills could have been learned. But writing at this level required years of practice. Louis remembered Freya's university records. Nothing suggested she had ever written fiction professionally.

He continued reading until nearly midnight. The protagonist in Freya's story was practical, independent, and deeply suspicious of relying on wealthy men. Louis found the similarity impossible to ignore.

The next morning, Freya noticed him looking tired. "Did you stay up working?" "Something like that." She placed coffee in front of him. "Don't destroy your health trying to become rich again. I haven't even received my breakup fee yet."

Louis looked at her over the rim of his cup. "Breakup fee?" Freya realized she had spoken too freely. "I'm joking." "How much are you expecting?" "Depends how rich you become."

He almost smiled. Freya escaped into the kitchen before he could continue questioning her. Louis watched her leave, thinking about the novel he had read the night before. The woman living with him had skills, habits, and ambitions his wife had never possessed. For the first time, the possibility that her change was more than a change of heart stopped feeling absurd.

Louis closed the reading app but did not delete it. He told himself he was only trying to understand the unexpected person living in his apartment. Yet when a notification announced that F.S. Moon had uploaded another chapter, his hand moved toward the phone before he could reconsider. Curiosity, he decided, was harmless. He had no intention of admitting to Freya that he had become one of her silent readers.