Chapter 4

“Was there something else?” I asked.

In the past, whenever Adrian came into the study to speak to me, I immediately put down whatever I was doing and gave him my full attention.

He clearly wasn’t used to my indifference. His expression stiffened.

“Actually, there is.”

He pulled out a chair and sat across from me.

“Sienna did well at the trustee demonstration, so I’m promoting her to co-captain of the robotics team. It will also encourage the younger students.” He looked at me. “What do you think?”

He made it sound as though he wanted my opinion, but I knew the appointment had already been decided.

“I don’t have a problem with it.”

Surprise flashed across his face. He hadn’t expected me to agree so easily.

“But if I reward one person, I also have to hold the others accountable,” he continued. “You haven’t led a major competition project in months, so I’m moving you to equipment inventory for now. Once your performance improves, I’ll consider returning you to the algorithm group.”

His tone softened into the patient voice he used when explaining something to a child.

“It won’t be permanent. I’m doing what’s best for the team. You’re my girlfriend, Claire. You should support me more than anyone.”

I nearly laughed.

He still had no idea that I had already left the team.

Adrian could tell from a single message whether Sienna was upset. He remembered that she hated sitting in the back seat, avoided nuts, and liked being called sunshine.

Yet my withdrawal forms had passed through his inbox. He had approved them himself without noticing what they were.

When I didn’t respond, Adrian assumed I was about to argue. His expression immediately darkened.

“You can disagree, but it won’t change anything. The appointment notice has already gone out. Your access has been moved to the equipment room, and Sienna will take your station in the algorithm lab.”

He leaned back with complete confidence.

“Either accept the reassignment or leave the team.”

Then he gave me the warning he believed would frighten me into submission.

“Think carefully before you make a decision you’ll regret. The robotics team just received a national research grant. Anyone who stays through next year will have experience most graduate programs would compete for. You won’t find another opportunity like this if you walk away.”

His tone made it clear that he didn’t believe I would ever leave.

The same thing had happened too many times.

Over the past year, every complaint from Sienna had pushed me another step down. I had gone from cofounder and captain to an ordinary team member, then to the person everyone called when equipment broke.

I had endured every previous demotion, so Adrian was certain I would endure this one too. He believed I had invested too much in the team—and in him—to give either of them up.

I gave him a faint smile.

“I never said I wouldn’t accept it.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Good. Then it’s settled.”

To Adrian, my silence had always meant surrender.

He stood and started toward the door, then stopped as he noticed the empty space on my desk.

“Where’s our picture?”

For years, a framed photograph of us had sat beside my laptop. It had been taken beneath the lanterns at the lighthouse festival, just after Adrian kissed me for the first time.

It wasn’t the only one.

He had been my phone wallpaper. Photographs of us hung in the bedroom and filled the small photo sleeve in my wallet.

Adrian used to tease me for caring about such sentimental things.

What he never understood was that I kept those pictures to remind myself that no matter how cruel he became, there had once been a boy who loved me.

Later, I realized how foolish that was.

The photographs no longer proved that he loved me. They only proved how desperately I had tried to believe he still did.

“The frame broke,” I said calmly. “So I put it away.”

Adrian frowned.

“How do you manage to be so careless with everything?”

He immediately looked down at the floor, checking for pieces of glass.

“Make sure you clean the room properly. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

His tone softened slightly as he headed for the door.

“Sienna is coming over tomorrow night to work on her campaign speech.”

I watched him leave and laughed quietly at myself.

Of course he hadn’t been worried that I might have cut my hands.

He was worried that Sienna might step on a piece of glass tomorrow.

This townhouse belonged to both of us. I paid half the rent and took care of nearly everything inside it.

A few months ago, however, I had found a rhinestone hair clip beneath the sofa cushions. Later, I discovered several bottles of Sienna’s favorite hazelnut syrup in the kitchen, even though neither Adrian nor I drank it.

That was when I realized Adrian had been bringing her into our home for months.