Still Legally Yours

Chapter 1

Miu's suitcase appeared on the carousel among the last ones out.

She recognized the silver shell from the other side of the baggage hall, and the bright green ribbon tied around the handle only confirmed that, this time, her assistant in Paris had actually been right. Before the flight, the girl had spent about five minutes fussing with the knot and insisting that now there was absolutely no chance of anyone confusing Miu's luggage with theirs. Miu had pointed out that she had somehow managed not to mix up her suitcase with someone else's for the past several years and was unlikely to start today, but she hadn't bothered arguing.

Now all she had to do was wait for it to finally reach them.

In the meantime, Lin had already finished one work call, replied to someone in a messenger app, and asked twice whether Miu was sure she hadn't checked a second suitcase, because the crowd around the carousel was gradually thinning while their luggage still hadn't appeared. Miu's answer the second time was considerably less polite than the first, and she had already started mentally inventorying what was in her carry-on and figuring out how she was supposed to explain the absence of everything else at tomorrow's shoot when the green ribbon finally appeared between two black suitcases.

"Thank God. I was already trying to figure out how hard it would be to replace my entire wardrobe in Bangkok."

"Considering how much is in that suitcase, it would probably be easier to fly back to Paris for it," Lin said, slipping her phone into the pocket of her blazer as she moved closer to the carousel with her. "And probably cheaper."

They reached for the handle at the same time, but Miu immediately pushed Lin's hand away and grabbed it herself.

"Don't. I've got it," she said, already pulling the suitcase toward the edge of the belt. "I've somehow managed my own luggage for ten years without your help. I can manage now."

Lin didn't argue. She withdrew her hand, stepped half a pace back, and folded her arms across her chest.

Over seven years, Miu had learned one particularly irritating thing about her: if Lin suddenly stopped arguing and stepped aside, it was too early to celebrate. Usually, she was simply waiting for Miu to provide enough evidence against herself before reminding her what she had suggested doing in the first place.

The suitcase was lying on its side, one wheel caught on the edge of the carousel, and Miu couldn't get it off on the first try. She pulled harder, grabbed the handle with both hands, and tried again, but the suitcase only twisted around and kept moving with the rest of the luggage.

"No." Lin covered Miu's hand with her own before she could try again. "After Milan, I'm not standing here watching you 'handle it yourself' and then spend three days with your wrist taped up. You have a shoot tomorrow. The last thing I need is your wrist acting up again."

Without waiting for an objection, she took the handle, hauled the suitcase off the carousel, and set it down beside them. Miu immediately took it back and extended the telescopic handle.

"I'm twenty-five, Lin. I'm perfectly capable of dealing with my own suitcase without injuring myself."

"You were twenty-five in Milan too."

Miu had already turned the suitcase toward the exit, but that made her stop.

"That happened on set," she protested, turning back to Lin. "And if you keep retelling that story however it suits you, in a couple of years it'll sound like I broke my own arm at baggage claim."

"You didn't break anything. You strained your wrist after spending half an hour at the airport insisting you were fine while you were already picking up your phone with your left hand." Lin started walking again without waiting for Miu to argue with the timeline. "Then you spent three days with it taped and kept claiming the two things had absolutely nothing to do with each other."