Chapter 64
Elodie’s POV~
Tommy was scared of Liora.
I remembered why. The last time Tommy had hugged me at school, Liora had gotten so jealous she’d scolded the poor girl. Ever since then, Tilly had kept her distance, always watching Liora warily.
Even now, she kept glancing nervously toward where Dante, Sienna, and Liora stood together.
They looked perfect. Like something out of a magazine, the powerful Alpha, his beautiful mate, and their adorable daughter.
A family.
I looked at them for a moment longer than I should have.
They fit together in a way Dante and I never had. Sienna laughed at something he said, her hand resting comfortably on his arm. Liora was beaming, swinging their joined hands back and forth.
They looked… happy.
And maybe that should’ve made me angry. Should’ve made me bitter.
But mostly it just made me tired.
I turned away.
“Come on, Tommy,” I said softly. “Let’s wait until they leave, okay p>
She nodded, staying close to my side.
A few minutes later, Dante and Sienna finally headed toward the parking lot, and I took Tommy’s hand and walked into the school.
Liora’s teacher was at the entrance, greeting parents and kids. When she saw me, her face lit up with recognition.
“Luna Elodie! I didn’t expect to see you this morning. Is everything—” She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes dropping to Tommy’s hand in mine, then flicking toward where Dante and Sienna had just left. Confusion crossed her face.
I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Mrs. Smith had an emergency,” I explained, keeping my voice steady. “She asked me to bring Tommy this morning p>
“Oh!” The teacher’s relief was visible. “I see. That’s very kind of you p>
She hesitated, clearly wanting to say something else, probably about seeing Liora arrive with Dante and Sienna.
“I know,” I said before she could continue. “It’s fine p>
The teacher looked uncomfortable but nodded. “Of course. Well, thank you for helping Mrs. Smith p>
I said goodbye to Tommy, reminding her not to mention to Liora that I’d been here, and then I walked back to my car.
My phone rang as I was pulling out of the parking lot.
It was Johnny.
“Hey,” I answered, putting it on speaker.
“Where are you? How far out p>
“About ten minutes away p>
“Perfect. I’ll meet you outside p>
When I arrived at Cole Corporation, Johnny was already waiting by the entrance, looking sharp in his suit and tie.
The second he saw me, he opened his arms. “Welcome back p>
I smiled, a real smile this time and let him hug me.
It felt good. Safe. Like maybe I still had someone in my corner.
“Ready for your first day?” he asked, pulling back.
“As ready as I’ll ever be p>
“You’re going to be great. Come on, let me show you around p>
But what Elodie didn’t see was the man watching from a window several floors up.
Yale had been on his phone, barely paying attention to anything outside, when movement at the entrance caught his eye.
He looked down and saw a woman, beautiful, elegant, but with something sad in the way she carried herself.
And then he saw Johnny hug her.
Before he could think much about it, his phone buzzed with another call.
It was Sienna.
He smiled and answered immediately. “Hey, good morning. When are you coming in p>
“That’s actually why I’m calling,” Sienna said, and something in her tone made his smile falter. “There’s been a change of plans. I won’t be joining Cole Corporation after all p>
Yale’s face went blank. “What p>
“I know, I’m sorry. It’s complicated. But I wanted to let you know as soon as possible so you could adjust the team p>
“Sienna, wait… what happened? I thought everything was set p>
“It was. But… personal reasons came up. I hope you understand p>
She sounded apologetic but firm. There was no room for negotiation.
Yale ran a hand through his hair, stunned. “Yeah. Of course. I understand p>
They said their goodbyes, and he hung up, staring at his phone screen.
Sienna wasn’t coming.
Which meant the project they’d been planning around her expertise was now in jeopardy. Which meant he’d have to scramble to find someone else. Which meant—
“Yale p>
He looked up to find one of his coworkers staring at him with concern.
“You okay, man? You look terrible p>
Yale forced himself to nod. “Yeah. I’m fine p>
But he wasn’t.
He began to tap his fingers around his table, watching through the CCTV camera that had been mounted everywhere, his eyes narrowing on the woman Johnny was leading everywhere.
Oh… now this was the reason why Johnny had rejected Sienna? Because of her? That woman beside Johnny doesn’t even look smart. Her dressing was a bit odd, doesn’t even carry the confident aura Sienna was used to carrying. What does she even have that Sienna doesn’t?
Or p>
Exactly, either this shallow woman beside Johnny had bought her way through into the company and Johnny, being biased, had agreed. That was the only way Johnny would have agreed. Because to him, that woman downstairs was nothing compared to his great Sienna.
And downstairs, completely unaware of any of this, I followed Johnny into the building, trying to focus on my fresh start.
Trying to believe that maybe, just maybe, things could get better.
Even though I wasn’t sure I believed it anymore.
Johnny walked me through the office, his hand lightly on my back, guiding me past cubicles and glass-walled conference rooms.
“Everyone’s excited to meet you,” he said, though I wasn’t sure I believed him.
We stopped in front of a large open space where about fifteen people were gathered, developers, programmers, project managers. They all looked up as we approached, curious but polite.
“Team, I’d like to introduce Elodie Miller,” Johnny announced with a warm smile. “She’s joining us as our senior programming architect. Some of you might not know this yet p>
A few eyebrows raised. Some impressed nods. One woman actually gasped softly.
“I’m really looking forward to working with all of you,” I said, trying to sound confident even though I felt like an imposter standing there.
Johnny started going around the room, introducing people one by one. Sarah from UX design. Marcus, lead developer. Chen, who handled backend infrastructure.
Then we got to a man standing near the window, tall, sharp-featured, arms crossed over his chest.
“And this is Yale,” Johnny said. “One of our top algorithm specialists p>
Yale didn’t smile. Didn’t offer his hand. Just looked at me with this cold, assessing expression.
“Nice to meet you,” I said anyway, extending my hand.
He glanced at it but didn’t shake it.
The room went awkwardly silent.
“Yale?” Johnny’s tone held a warning.
“I have a question,” Yale said, ignoring Johnny completely and focusing on me. “What’s your educational background p>
I blinked, caught off guard. “I have a master’s in computer science from p>
“And your PhD?” he interrupted.
“I… haven’t completed a PhD program yet p>
The judgment in his expression was immediate. “I see p>
Johnny stepped forward slightly. “Yale, that’s not p>
“I’m just trying to understand,” Yale cut him off, his voice getting louder. “We had someone lined up to join this team. Someone with a PhD from one of the top universities in Europe. Someone with an incredible track record. And now she’s suddenly not coming, and instead we get… this p>
Each word felt like a slap.
“Yale,” Johnny said sharply. “That’s enough p>
But Yale was on a roll now, and nothing was going to stop him. “You look pretty young, Miss Miller. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you hadn’t even finished your undergrad p>
Heat flooded my face. I could feel everyone staring.
“My age doesn’t p>
“What institution did you get your master’s from?” he demanded. “Is it even ranked? Or is it one of those programs anyone can get into if they pay enough p>
“Yale!” Johnny’s voice cracked like a whip.
But Yale ignored him, stepping closer to me. “Let me guess, you haven’t been accepted into any PhD programs because you’re not actually qualified, right? Or maybe the school you went to was so mediocre you’re embarrassed to mention it p>
I opened my mouth, trying to stay calm even though I felt like I was being torn apart in front of strangers. “I haven’t pursued a PhD yet, but p>
Yale laughed. Actually laughed. It was harsh and mocking and made me feel about two inches tall.
“But what?” he sneered. “You’re going to tell me that even without a doctorate, you’re somehow just as good as the rest of us? That your ‘expertise’ makes up for your lack of credentials p>
My hands were shaking. I clenched them into fists at my sides.
“Or is it just that you’ve got a pretty face and you’re used to men telling you how special you are?” Yale continued, his voice dripping with contempt. “Is that why you think you deserve to be here? Because someone’s been sweet-talking you into believing you have actual skills p>
The room was deadly silent now. Everyone was frozen, watching this trainwreck unfold.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
All the pain from this morning, from seeing Dante and Sienna with Liora, from being invisible in my own daughter’s life, from feeling like I didn’t belong anywhere, came crashing down on me all at once.
And now this stranger was telling me I didn’t belong here either.
“Yale!” Johnny’s voice was furious now. “You’re out of line p>
Yale yanked the ID badge from around his neck. “I’m resigning p>
“You what p>
“I quit.” Yale threw the badge on the nearest desk. “I thought you valued talent, Johnny. I thought you kept personal feelings separate from business decisions. Clearly, I was wrong about you p>
He started walking toward the exit.
Johnny looked torn between fury and shock. “Yale, take some time to cool off. If you want to come back after p>
“I’ll never set foot in Cole Corporation again,” Yale spat over his shoulder.
And then he was gone.
The silence he left behind was suffocating.