The next morning, she called the front desk and asked them to connect her to Mr. Sato.
He arrived at the hotel two hours later, crisp suit as always, carrying his tablet and a faint look of curiosity.
"Miss White," he said with a polite nod. "May I ask... did your meeting with Mr. Masa go well?"
"It did," she said, folding her hands in her lap. "Which is why I'd like to talk about next steps."
His eyebrows lifted, just slightly. "Of course."
They sat in the small hotel lounge, near the window where warm light spilled over the marble table. She had a notepad in front of her, a list she'd scribbled down just after sunrise.
"I haven't made a final decision," she began. "But I want to clarify a few things."
"Please," Mr. Sato said, ready to type.
She took a breath. "If I enter this agreement, marriage, relocation, the plan to start a family. I want to remain in the city for the pregnancy. The full term."
Mr. Sato didn't blink. "Due to medical concerns?"
She nodded. "I had complications before. There's a history in my family, and I had a minor surgery. I was told if I ever became pregnant again, I'd need careful monitoring."
"That's understandable," he said, tapping on the screen. "I will file a request to allow for an urban extension. We have precedent, particularly in cases with documented health risks."
"Also…" she hesitated, then said, "I want to be clear that if I cannot carry a child, or if I choose not to try again, there is no penalty. No cancellation. This isn't a transaction."
Mr. Sato met her gaze. "It's not."
She studied his expression. Calm. Professional. But something softened in his face, like he respected the fact that she wasn't just nodding her way through someone else's idea of a future.
"I don't need a perfect life," she said. "But I need a say in how it's shaped."
"You have it," he replied. "And you always will."
She exhaled slowly, tension uncoiling from her spine. "Then I'll give it a try. With Hino."
Mr. Sato tapped once more, saved the file, and looked up.
"I think you'll both be good for each other."
She wasn't sure yet. But for the first time in months, she felt like her life might be something more than a survival story.
It might become something she chose.