4. She Blocked All The Access

Ayla didn't argue back. She looked at the faint mark still pressed into her ring finger. "This mark looks awful. I should've taken it off sooner."

Halle caught the tone in her voice and realized Ayla might actually mean it this time.

Not that she was completely sure, but Ayla's attitude was stronger than before. Still, Halle couldn't resist a jab.

"The price of your marriage isn't even worth a steak dinner."

Ayla didn't explain herself. "Then let's go. Dinner's on me." 

Halle stayed put, one brow raised. "My time's valuable.

First tell me what you really want. Let me decide if you're worth sitting through a meal with."

Ayla went quiet for a few seconds.

"I'm rewriting the research paper I dropped before," Ayla said. "I need to use your lab to run the data."

The industry had changed so fast. She would have to make a lot of adjustments.

She hadn't dared to bring it up on the phone. Guilt held her back.

She knew Halle would scold her-why wait until now? If she hadn't gotten married, her paper would've been published back in college.

Sure enough, Halle gave her an odd look. "A whim?"

"I'm serious," Ayla said.

Halle studied her closely.

She had never left the field, and she knew the buzz.

Norris was leading research that had every major tech company watching.

Almost no one knew that the toughest part of Norris's project was something Ayla had already solved three years ago.

The full system-LugiX-was sitting in her company. Ayla was the sole developer of the LugiX language model. Any single hurdle she'd overcome could have stalled an entire lab for years. To Halle, Ayla was the most gifted person she had ever met.

But geniuses could be fools in love. Instead of building her career. Avla had run off and gotten married. Now she was stuck serving coffee as someone's secretary. Wasting her talent. No real work, no progress. Halle couldn't wrap her head around it.

"You've been out for three years," Halle said. "Are you sure your paper's still worth anything?"

"I'll make changes," Ayla answered. "Once my professor comes out, I'll confirm the research direction with her. If she approves, I'll move forward."

That was only if the professor agreed to see her.

"Then you'll be waiting a while," Halle said. "She's buried in national projects right now. She won't be out anytime soon."

"I can wait," Ayla said calmly.

She wasn't chasing Troy's love anymore. What she now had was time.

Halle wanted to say more but stopped. She knew that even if Ayla had been gone from the field for years, when it came to her research, she couldn't give any advice with her level.

The mind of a true genius worked in a world of its own.

Finally, Halle gave in. "Fine. I'll have dinner with you."

Sharp tongue, soft heart. She acted like Ayla was troubling her, but the truth was, she'd never have shown up if she didn't care.

Ayla smiled lightly. "Thanks for making the time, Ms. Hall."

Max was out shopping with his new influencer girlfriend-someone he had just made things official with an hour ago-when he spotted a familiar face. He hurried forward, but the person was already gone. Max stepped into the jewelry store, told his girlfriend to pick something she liked, and casually asked the staff a few questions.

The more he heard, the more excited he became. Troy, that sneaky guy, had lied to him!

If Ayla had gone back home first thing in the morning to play the dutiful wife, how would she have sold her wedding ring?

Max thought it over, then quickly texted a bunch of friends to meet.

That night, the group was drinking and laughing when Troy finally showed up.

Max spotted him right away and raised his voice on purpose. "You guys hear this? Ayla sold her wedding ring. What kind of show do you think she's putting on?" Every time they hung out, the group would make jokes at Ayla's expense. At first, they worried Troy might get annoyed, but they soon realized he didn't care.

If he reacted as much as with a frown, no one would dare to say another word.

But they soon realized it didn't matter. Troy never cared. He didn't mind them laughing at Ayla, even right in front of him.

This time was different. Before anyone else could say anything, Troy cut in, his tone flat. "She's just putting on a show for me."

Jed had already told him every word Ayla said at the café.

He hadn't believed it for a second.

Troy shared Jed's thought-Ayla must have been pushed over the edge.

Selling the wedding ring was just another stunt.

"Putting on a show? That does sound like Ayla," one friend said with a laugh.

"But come on, that won't work on Troy. Everyone knows he never wore his wedding ring after the wedding."

Max, grinning, chimed in, "Not true. He's worn it at special events. At least when Martin's around, he wouldn't dare to take it off-"

Troy shot him an icy glare.

Max coughed and backtracked immediately. "Right, right. Never wore it. Not worn it for once."

That seemed to smooth things over. Troy's expression eased slightly.

Max twitched his mouth and asked, "By the way, I saw Ayla at another jewelry store later. It looked like she was buying a new pair of matching rings for you two.

You gonna wear one if she gives it to you?"

Troy didn't answer.

Instead, his long fingers toyed with his hand as his expression softened-something rare for him.

Troy had lived up to his reputation: cold, refined, untouchable. That flicker of tenderness on his face was unusual." 

Skyla.

But in a flash, he switched off the screen.

Troy looked up, clearly irritated by the interruption. "You asked me here for something this pointless?"

Max finally understood. Ayla could disappear for a month, and Troy wouldn't care.

No matter what tricks she tried, it was meaningless if Troy didn't give her the time of day. There's no fun in it for anyone.

Max let out a disappointed click of his tongue. "Well, I didn't win, but you lost. Don't forget-you owe me a dinner."

They had made a bet on how long it would take Ayla to come back.

Troy gave a calm nod. "Pick a date."

Max grinned. "Skyla's birthday's coming up. Let's do it then-make it a party."

Troy's voice was even. "You don't need to bring that up; I was already planning on inviting you all."

Max whistled low. "So thoughtful. Guess you had it planned all along."

It really showed whether someone cared or not.

If he remembered right, Ayla's birthday was a month ago.

That night Troy was out drinking with them. Ayla called, but Troy was too drunk to answer, so Max picked up. The first thing she asked was, "Are you still busy? My birthday's over."

It was one in the morning.

Max answered, "It's me. Sorry, Troy's had too much to drink. Hmm, happy birthday."

Ayla stayed quiet for a few seconds. She seemed to accept that her husband had forgotten her birthday. After that, she simply asked Max to take care of Troy, not a single complaint.

Back then, Max thought Ayla was a saint when it came to love.

Later that night, Troy came home from Max's party.

Passing through the living room, something made him glance at the couch.

No one was there.

Upstairs, the guest room at the end of the hall was dark.

That was Ayla's room, the one farthest away from the master bedroom.

A whole day had gone by. She still hadn't come back. Troy didn't care. He turned and went into the master bedroom.

Monday morning, the start of the workweek.

Troy washed up and went downstairs. Laura was busy in the kitchen. She had made a full breakfast spread. He looked it over. He wasn't that hungry but still sat down at the table.

Laura finally breathed in relief.

Ayla was away. The last two days had been rough on her. Troy was polite, almost never snapping at staff. But his presence was strong, and just standing near him made someone like Laura feel pressured.

"Mr. Winston, take your time and enjoy your breakfast," she said carefully.

The food wasn't bad, but compared to Ayla's cooking, something was missing.

After only two days, Troy found himself missing her breakfasts. "Has she called you?" he asked suddenly. Laura froze on the spot. She was about to leave the room, but the question startled her. "Wh-what?"

Troy frowned.

Alarm went off in Laura's mind.

She caught herself, quickly shaking her head. "No, she hasn't!"

Troy's frown deepened. "Not even once?"