Chapter 2

With just a single command, Alex destroyed everything I'd spent years building.

Shadow wasn't just some account—it was a legacy my father entrusted to me.

Alex was one of the only people who really got what Shadow meant to me.

Two generations poured their hearts into it, filling it with code-breaking secrets. Alex knew all of this, and he still wiped it out.

And now, right in front of everyone, he wiped it out without a second thought.

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh.

I was such a fool, thinking he'd go easy on me just because we were together.

Rather than shooting back, I just packed up my things and headed back to my room.

Guess working in admin wasn't the worst thing ever.

My mom had never been happy about me following in my dad's footsteps. She'd always wanted me to get a normal job.

At least now she wouldn't have to worry about me anymore.

Just then, my mom called. When she heard I'd lost the match and got reassigned to answer phones in the back office, she let out a sigh.

She said, "Well, maybe this is for the best. The job's stable, and maybe now you'll finally settle down.

"How are things with Alex? You two are almost thirty, it's about time to get married. I checked the calendar—Christmas would be perfect," my mom said.

I cut her off fast. "Mom, his precious Emily just came back, so we broke up."

Before I could finish, Alex snatched the phone from behind me. "Mrs. Shaddock, Soph's just kidding. We haven't broken up.

"My mom says Christmas is a good day, too. Once things settle down, I'll come by and meet you," he added, sounding all smooth and confident.

Alex hung up, then hugged me from behind, apologizing, "Soph, don't be jealous. I did it for you today, you know."

Ignoring my struggles, he just tightened his grip around me. "The higher-ups said yesterday that we absolutely couldn't lose this match. Now that things blew up, if I didn't step in and punish you first, the bosses would've come down on you way harder.

"Come on, Soph, I'm your boyfriend. I'd never do anything to hurt you. Just go work the phones in the back office for now. When this all blows over, I'll pull some strings and get you back."

I let out a cold laugh and gave him a sharp kick behind me, finally making him let go. "Soph, why are you so ruthless? Aren't you worried you'll break me for good?"

Seeing I was still ice-cold, he stepped up again. "Alright, alright, you've hit me, you've let off steam. Can't you just forgive me already?"

I stared at his phony face, barely able to believe this was the guy I'd loved for so many years.

"We lost the match because of Emily, Alex. How can you, as captain, be so unfair?

"Emily's so unprofessional. She's just dead weight for the team," I snapped, my voice sharp with frustration.

But the moment I brought up Emily, Alex's expression instantly darkened. "Soph, can you stop being so unreasonable?

"Now's not the time to be jealous. The way you talked about Emily just now—do you have any idea how much you hurt her?

"Good thing she's so forgiving—she's willing to let you make up for it.

"Come on, let's go apologize to her together. Once you do, this whole mess will be behind us," he urged.

I stared at him in shock. "So you came here just to make me apologize to Emily?"

Seeing I understood, Alex affectionately patted my head. "That's my clever Soph.

"Emily's just a sensitive girl. She cried for ages after what you said.

"She's sticking around on the team, so if you just say sorry, it'll help her settle in," Alex said, almost like he was begging me to play nice.

So that was how it was. So I was just the stepping stone for her, huh?

It turned out that everything that happened today was all mapped out by them from the very beginning.

Even if we'd won, they'd still have found a way to kick me out, wipe my account, and make me grovel.

After all, anyone who could make the ace hacker eat crow must be something special.

Alex kept pushing me. "Soph, look, I've already apologized to you. Can't you just give Emily a sincere apology, too?

"Just say it and get it over with. Don't make such a big deal out of it."

I couldn't help but laugh—so pissed off, it was almost funny.

Just a moment ago, seeing how he acted, I almost felt myself wavering.

After loving him for so many years, cutting him off out of the blue wasn't exactly easy.

But now? I just wished I'd kicked him hard enough to make sure he'd never have kids.

"Alex, we're done. Go be with Emily—she's the one you chose, isn't she?" I said, my voice ice-cold.

Alex just smirked. "Sophie, breaking up with me? Nice try, but that trick doesn't work on me."

He looked me up and down, then shook his head. "No matter how hard I tried to change you, you're still just as plain as ever.

"Seriously, who else would ever want you besides me?

"After all these years, I'll give you one day to make up your mind.

"If you want to fix this, come back and apologize to the team yourself. Miss the deadline, and don't bother showing up."

He turned and walked out, taking all his stuff with him.

I stared at the empty room, feeling hollow inside.

My life used to be so simple—just code and Alex.

Now, both of them were gone, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with myself.

So now I just answered phones?

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Talk about cruelty.

Alex knew I had social anxiety, that talking to strangers freaked me out, and he still threw me on phone duty.

The problem was, I couldn't afford to lose this job.

May as well roll with it. At least I figured out what Alex was really like before I almost married him.

With that thought, I grabbed my stuff and dragged myself over to the admin office—time to face my new reality.