Chapter 2

2.

The last shred of decency was torn away. I couldn’t stop myself from asking him why he would lie to me.

Eamon was silent for a long time.

“It’s not complicated. I loved her. Sometimes I still think about her. That’s it.”

He watched calmly as I fell apart. “Claire, we’re married now. You don’t need to keep digging into my past.”

The irony was suffocating.

“What if she comes back? What if she asks you to join her lab? Would you go?”

He didn’t answer.

His hand rested on my shoulder, trying to pull me into an embrace.

I shoved his hand away, staring him down, demanding an answer.

Eamon sighed. “Come on, don’t overthink this. Let’s just go to bed, baby.”

He was so calm, making me feel like a hysterical madwoman.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I pushed on. “Would you, or would you not?”

The comments said Isabella had just returned to Silicon Valley. She was building her own AI lab in Palo Alto and was hiring a head of algorithms.

Her fans were shipping them like crazy, convinced they would get back together, completely ignoring me, his legal wife.

Eamon’s lips formed a tight line. After a long moment, he said, “No, I wouldn’t. Are you happy now?”

Before the words even faded, his phone rang.

The screen clearly displayed “Bella.” Without a second thought, Eamon grabbed his phone and started to walk away.

I clutched his shirt sleeve.

“Take it here.”

We were locked in a stalemate as the ringing faded. Afraid he’d miss it, Eamon actually answered the call right in front of me.

His voice was hoarse when he spoke.

“Bella.”

He said her name with such tenderness.

She replied softly on the other end.

“Hey, it’s me.”

I felt Eamon’s entire body go rigid. He even forgot to pull his sleeve from my grasp.

Isabella’s voice was laced with desperation.

“I’m so sorry to call this late. I didn’t know who else to turn to. My lead algo engineer just bailed on me―he won’t even show up for the Lisbon demo, let alone come back to the States. But the investors have already set the launch date. I can’t postpone it.”

“I know this is a huge ask, but… can you fly out and help me? Please? You’re the best.”