at the end of t

ed into a mask of fury. He didn't even look at

ed, pushing past me to wrap a prot

said, my voice barely a

echoing in the now-silent open-plan office. "You're

me fully, his ey

you? Are you that je

ething I never

lapp

d to the side, my cheek stinging instantly. A col

ht "board meetings." The scent of Chloe's perfume on his clothes. The wa

rofessional betray

th her," I stated.

He pulled Chloe close

e said dismissively. "This

torious one. The years of work, of love, of

iews and going to parties, I was here, writing the code that made you a star. Do you even remember our first apartm

ddening. "I'm the visionary. I'm the one who sold th

etly, nestling into his side. "T

. They always had been. I was just the weird, quiet pro

the sea of faces. "This platform is a complex ecosystem. It needs constant maint

t loud, a cruel

eers. We don't need you, Ava.

ut. The life I had built, the man I had loved, the co

numb, then co

d of all emotion. "I want a divo