Chapter 3

They had given me the rare warmth of my youth.

And in return, using my sheer technical brilliance,

I turned Julian from an empty, pretty face into an acclaimed Silicon Valley prodigy.

I thought we were soulmates, comrades fighting side by side.

I looked up, meeting their gazes.

Even knowing the ugly truth, a sharp, dull ache still tore through my chest.

I looked at Julian and asked softly:

"If we break up, what happens to the company?"

Julian was clearly caught off guard by how calm I was. He blinked, stunned.

Then he let out a sigh.

"Stella, I know how much the company means to you.

Don't worry about operations; I'll handle everything.

You just take some time off to rest. Think of it as a vacation."

"Exactly, Stella,"

Serena jumped in instantly.

"Money is endless, don't be so stubborn.

Your health and peace of mind come first.

Just hand over your current workload, and Julian will hire someone to take over."

Hire someone to take over?

I smiled inside. They couldn't even bother to finish acting out the script.

"Okay."

My voice didn't waver.

"I agree. I'll leave."

Julian hadn't expected me to fold so quickly. He stood there dazed for a moment before speaking.

"Stella, thank you for understanding.

Don't worry. Once this storm passes, everything will go back to normal."

"When that happens, I'll bring you right back, and we'll get married!"

"You know you're the only one I love."

Looking into Julian's sincere eyes, my mind drifted for a second.

Right after college, living in a moldy basement studio, we had split a single dry bagel between us.

Back then, he had looked at me with that exact same earnest gaze.

"Stella, you're suffering by sticking with me. I swear I'll give you the world."

"In my book, there's no such thing as a breakup. Only till death do us part."

And at the beginning, he had kept his word. Once the startup gained traction,

industry peers teased him that he needed a glamorous female assistant.

He had pulled me into his arms without hesitation, laughing:

"I would never do anything that could make my princess Stella jealous."

Back then, he really did love me. So when did it all turn rotten?

After they left, I sat in the lab alone for hours.

I used to believe the world of code was pure and fair.

As long as you put in the work, you were guaranteed a return.

Human hearts, however, weren't lines of code. They were riddled with hidden variables and toxic malice I could never calculate.

The next morning, I handed the encrypted hard drive and root admin credentials to Julian.

"Everything on Centrum 2.0 is in here, along with full administrative access to the servers."

Julian's hands trembled slightly as he took the drive.

"Stella, I'm sorry to put you through this. Don't worry, once you return, I—"

"Save it," I cut him off.

"I'm exhausted. I'm heading back to my hometown for a while."

Serena glided over right on time, wearing an expression of pure, sisterly concern.

"Stella, take care of yourself out there. We'll visit you all the time."

"Don't worry! I'll keep an eye on Julian. He won't dare do anything behind your back!"

"Sounds great," I said, offering a faint smile.