Chapter 2

With a loud bang, I pushed open the doors to the banquet hall on the top floor of the company.

Inside, the lights were dazzling, and the room was filled with elite guests in formal wear.

To break through that fatal coding bottleneck, I had worked day and night in Silicon Valley for two years. I slept less than four hours a day. I even ended up in the ER three times from sheer exhaustion.

I had returned with the final patent authorization, eager to give my wife, Chloe, the ultimate surprise.

But the scene in front of me felt like a bucket of ice water poured straight down my spine.

On the stage in the center of the hall, Chloe was wearing a custom haute couture gown I had personally designed for her. She was wrapping her arms lovingly around a young man's waist.

It was Asher. The intern assistant I had hired before going to Silicon Valley.

He was a college grad who couldn't even write a basic line of clean code, a boy who only knew how to sweet-talk.

Now, he was wearing a bespoke tuxedo. On his wrist was the Patek Philippe watch I had eyed at an auction—the one Chloe had told me was "too expensive, maybe next time."

"Partners, investors!" Chloe raised her champagne glass, her voice booming with pride.

"Today is the most important day for AuraTech!"

"Our core AI chip is finally a success. Next month, we will officially ring the bell on Nasdaq!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

Chloe turned to Asher, her eyes dripping with affection.

"And here, I want to give a special thanks to someone very close to my heart."

"Our newly appointed CTO, and my future husband—Asher!"

"For the past two years, he led the team, working day and night to achieve this breakthrough."

"And... I am already carrying his baby."

The hall went wild.

"They look so perfect together!"

"Congratulations, Chloe! Double blessings!"

"Asher is so young to carry such a massive tech project. What a genius!"

Standing at the entrance, listening to these disgusting, flattering words, I felt a wave of pure absurdity wash over me.

Asher led the team? A technological breakthrough?

That idiot couldn't even tell the difference between C++ and Java!

For two years, I was the one leading the core engineers in the research base. Under immense pressure, I wrote those core algorithms line by line.

I nearly died to get this technology, and now it was Asher's stepping stone to the top?

I took a deep breath and walked toward the stage.

The sound of my leather shoes clicking against the marble floor echoed sharply in the quiet room.

The crowd parted automatically.

The executives who used to bow to me now turned pale, dodging my gaze and whispering among themselves.

When Chloe saw me, her smile froze instantly.

She instinctively let go of Asher's waist.

Panic flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by cold indifference and annoyance.

Asher, on the other hand, didn't look guilty at all. He squared his shoulders, stepped closer to Chloe, and spoke in a mocking tone.

"Oh, Ethan! You're finally back!"

He raised his glass, looking down at me like a victorious king.

"Grab a seat, we’re celebrating."

"You worked hard 'studying' abroad these past two years. Don't worry about the R&D anymore. I’ve got it covered. You can just relax and retire."

Looking at his smug face, I let out a cold laugh.

"Studying? Covered?"

I turned my eyes to Chloe, staring at her coldly.

"Chloe, is that what you told them?"

"I risked my life in that lab to build your technology, and you told everyone I went to 'study'?"

Chloe frowned, quickly stepping down from the stage. She grabbed my arm and whispered harshly:

"Ethan, what the hell are you doing? There are investors here today! Don't embarrass me!"

"Embarrass you?" I violently shook off her hand.

"You took my code to put your new boy toy on a pedestal, and you're worried about embarrassment? I have nothing to lose!"