Elodie’s POV
Johnny knew too well.
He’d watched throw myself into my work over the years, seen stay up nights coding, building, creating things just to see if I could. Just to prove to myself that I was capable of sothing.
And he’d watched do the sa thing with Dante.
I’d loved him with everything I had. Given up my scholarship opportunities, turned down offers from top tech companies, let my own dreams get smaller and smaller because I thought maybe, if I just tried hard enough, he’d love back.
It had cost everything.
But Johnny had never once heard say I regretted it.
Maybe because I was too proud. Or maybe because admitting regret would an admitting I’d wasted seven years of my life on soone who was never going to choose .
So when I told him I was fine now, that I could let it go, he believed .
God, I wished I believed too.
“Want a drink?” Johnny asked, his tone lighter now.
I nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.”
We moved through the crowd, away from where Dante and Sienna were still holding court and headed toward the refreshnts area.
“Wine?” Johnny offered.
“Just a little.”
I wasn’t much of a drinker, but tonight I needed sothing to take the edge off. Sothing to make standing in this room, breathing the sa air as them, slightly more bearable.
We clinked glasses, and I took a sip. The wine was expensive, smooth and rich, the kind of thing I’d never have bought for myself.
We stood there quietly for a while, and I focused on the taste, the warmth spreading through my chest, anything but the ache that wouldn’t go away.
“John!”
A voice called out, and I looked up to see an older man approaching us. He had kind eyes and graying hair, and the way Johnny’s face lit up told this was soone important.
“Professor Nolan!” Johnny stepped forward, shaking the man’s hand warmly. “I was looking for you earlier.”
“Were you now?” Professor Nolan smiled, but there was teasing skepticism in his voice.
“I’m serious. I ca tonight specifically to introduce you to soone.”
The professor’s gaze shifted to , and I felt myself being evaluated. His expression was appreciative but confused like he couldn’t quite figure out why Johnny was so eager to introduce us.
For a horrible second, I wondered if he thought I was Johnny’s girlfriend or sothing.
“The language programming system you’re developing,” Johnny continued, gesturing toward with that easy confidence he always had. “I know it’s hit a bottleneck. This is Elodie, my colleague and one of the most brilliant programrs I’ve ever worked with. I guarantee she can help you.”
Professor Nolan’s eyebrows rose. “Your colleague?”
He’d clearly never heard of . Why would he have? I’d spent the last seven years hiding behind Dante’s shadow, letting all my work stay anonymous, never taking credit for anything because I didn’t want to make waves.
“CUAP,” Johnny said simply. “She developed it eight years ago with her team.”
The professor’s expression changed completely. Shock. Disbelief. “CUAP? The CUAP?”
“The one and only.”
Professor Nolan stared at like I’d just told him I could walk on water. “You created CUAP?”
I nodded, suddenly feeling very exposed. “Yes.”
“My God.” He laughed, the sound full of wonder. “I’ve been trying to understand the architecture of that system for years. It’s brilliant. Absolutely revolutionary. And you, how old were you when you built it?”
“Seventeen.”
He looked like he might fall over. “Seventeen. Unbelievable.”
Then he launched into questions, technical ones about the system’s design, about the algorithms I’d used, about problems he was facing in his own work.
And for the first ti all night, I felt like I could breathe.
This was familiar territory. And it was Safe. I knew this language, the language of code and logic and problem-solving. Here, I wasn’t the rejected wife or the forgotten Luna. I was just... .
We talked for what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes. The professor was brilliant, asking exactly the right questions, pushing to think deeper. And the more we talked, the more animated I beca.
For those twenty minutes, I forgot about Dante. Forgot about Sienna and her three-million-dollar dress. Forgot about everything except the work.
Johnny stood off to the side, sipping his wine and watching us with this satisfied smile, like he’d orchestrated exactly what he’d wanted.
“This is remarkable,” Professor Nolan said finally, shaking his head in amazent. “Ms. Elodie, I would be honored if you’d consider consulting on my project. Your insights are exactly what we need.”
“I’d love to,” I said, and I ant it.
This was what I needed. Work that mattered. Work that was mine.
“Wonderful. John has my contact information, we’ll arrange a ti to et properly.” He smiled at warmly. “It’s been a genuine pleasure.”
I was still smiling from the conversation with Professor Nolan when I sensed her approaching. It was Sienna.
Johnny noticed first, his eyes flicked over my shoulder, and sothing in his expression hardened.
I turned just as she reached us.
“Mr. Gray,” she said, her voice smooth and polite. Professional.
For a brief second, she had this pleasant smile on her face, the kind you give to important business contacts.
Then her eyes landed on . The smile vanished.
Her expression went ice-cold, like soone had flipped a switch. She looked at for maybe half a second before deliberately turning her gaze away, acting like I wasn’t even standing there.
Like I was invisible.
My chest tightened, but I kept my face neutral.
She turned back to Johnny, the pleasant mask sliding back into place. “I wanted to thank you again for the opportunity. I’m really looking forward to—”
“This is Ms. Brown,” Johnny cut in smoothly, looking at with deliberate warmth. “El, would you like to et her?”
The air shifted.
I understood imdiately what Johnny was doing. He was making his position crystal clear not just to Sienna, but to anyone watching. He was telling her, and everyone else, that he and I were close. That he knew exactly what the situation was between us.
And that he was choosing my side.
Sienna’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
She wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what Johnny ant.
“So,” she said, her voice dropping a few degrees. “Does this an I shouldn’t bother showing up at Cole Corporation tomorrow?”
Johnny smiled, but not warmly, but with a kind of sharp appreciation. “You’re very perceptive, Ms. Brown. I admire that.”
He could have been subtle about it. Could have let her down gently later with so excuse about budget constraints or a change in direction.
But he didn’t.
He wanted her to know that this was about . That he was standing with , and there was no negotiating around it.
I felt a rush of gratitude so strong it almost hurt.
Sienna looked at then, really looked at and there was sothing in her eyes I couldn’t quite read. Anger? Contempt? Pity?
Whatever it was, it made feel small.
“I see,” she said coldly. Then, without another word, she turned and walked away.
Her posture was perfect. Confident. Like this was just a minor inconvenience rather than a humiliation.
Of course it was. What was Cole Corporation to her when she had Dante? When she had the Bellini Pack’s resources, their connections, their everything?
Johnny wasn’t even a blip on her radar.
But he’d made his point.
I watched her walk back toward where Dante stood, and that’s when I realized they were all looking at now.
Dante. Harrison. Levi.
They must have been watching Sienna, and now their eyes had landed on standing next to Johnny.
Harrison and Levi looked surprised like they genuinely hadn’t expected to see here.
But Dante...
Dante’s face was completely blank. Expressionless. Like he was looking at a stranger he’d passed on the street and would forget about in five minutes.
Not his wife. Not the mother of his child.
Not soone he’d known for seventeen years.
Just... nothing.
Seven years of marriage, and he looked at like I didn’t exist.
“What’s wrong?” Johnny’s voice broke through my thoughts.
I realized I’d gone completely still, my wine glass frozen halfway to my lips.
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