Chapter 3

Three years.

I'd been in New York for three years, and I didn't even have a valid stay permit?

"So what do I do now?"

"First, go to Immigration to process the paperwork. Pay the fine, get a departure permit, then you can buy a ticket." She pushed my passport back.

"Next."

I stepped aside to make room.

The person behind me pushed forward, quickly blocking the window.

I stood there, staring at the passport in my hand.

So I wasn't even legally allowed to be here.

Then what were these three years?

Outside the ticket office, I called the immigration consultant.

"Mrs. Mitchell, I wanted to ask—in my situation, why does my extension keep getting rejected? Now I need to pay a huge fine."

Mrs. Miller's voice was as warm as ever: "Mrs. Mitchell, that shouldn't be happening. Your husband is a university professor. Dependent extensions should be easy to approve. Did he complete all the sponsorship paperwork?"

"He did."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem…" She paused. "Hold on, let me look into it."

The line went quiet for a moment.

When she spoke again, her voice was lower: "Mrs. Mitchell, if you don't mind me asking—when your husband sponsored you, did he use the spousal reunification channel?"

I held the phone, silent.

"The system shows…" She chose her words carefully. "The wife slot linked to your husband was approved for a Ms. Roberts."

"He also submitted sponsorship for you, but not under the spouse category—it went through a different channel."

"But that channel was suspended about a year ago, which is why your applications keep getting rejected."

I paused. "I see. Thank you, Mrs. Miller."

I hung up.

Standing there, I remembered certain details.

Three years ago, right after arriving in New York, James said he'd handle my paperwork and took all my documents.

Later he said everything was done, so I never asked about it again.

So what I thought was following love across the world had actually turned into illegal overstaying…

I stood by the road for a long time.

I went to every office I could.

In the end, I found there was only one solution—

My original sponsor, James, needed to submit a statement.

Explaining that he failed to notify me in time about changes to the sponsorship channel, resulting in my unintentional overstay.

Then I could pay the fine, reapply for a short-term visitor visa, and legally leave the country.

Simple.

He just needed to sign his name.

But how could I ask him?

Say "Since you gave the wife slot to someone else, now sign this so I can leave"?

And if I did that, wouldn't we have to settle all the accounts from these three years too?

I went back to that so-called "home."

James still wasn't back. The door was still locked tight.

I didn't wait. I called a locksmith directly.

After getting everything sorted, I went to James's university.

When I arrived, I could hear voices coming from his office.

"Professor Mitchell, are you really letting me go for the University Arts Foundation residency program?"

It was Emma's voice, with a hint of coyness.

"But my qualifications aren't enough, are they? This would be more suited for Grace—she actually studied this field."