Chapter 374: The Professional Front

The library, once a sanctuary, had become a battlefield of a different kind. The air in their secluded corner was thick not with the easy silence of shared study, but with the rigid, deliberate focus of a business meeting. Ethan and Ana Lucía had erected a professional scaffold around themselves, a fragile structure designed to hold the weight of their project without collapsing under the emotional rubble beneath.

They sat opposite each other, a laptop open between them like a neutral territory. Ethan had drafted an agenda. Ana Lucía had prepared a list of potential project topics. It was efficient. It was civil. It was utterly devoid of the warmth that had once made these sessions the highlight of his day.

—I was thinking, — Ana Lucía began, her eyes fixed on the screen, not on him, —an app for campus resource navigation. It could map the most efficient routes between classes, show real-time occupancy in study rooms, integrate with the library database…

—It’s practical, — Ethan acknowledged, his tone analytical. —But it lacks a unique value proposition. Many universities have similar systems in development. We need something more innovative to stand out.

She nodded, a quick, professional dip of her chin. —You’re right. What about something in the sustainable finance space? A platform that helps students manage and invest their loans or part-time income with an ESG focus?

Ethan felt a flicker of the old intellectual spark. It was a brilliant, ambitious idea, perfectly aligning with his own interests. —That has potential, — he said, and for the first time, he looked at her, truly looked at her. —The data modeling for risk assessment alone would be complex, but the market need is there.

For a fleeting second, their professional masks slipped. Their eyes met, and in that silent space, a ghost of their old connection flickered—a shared recognition of a good idea, a mutual respect for each other’s minds. Then, just as quickly, Ana Lucía looked down, her pen tracing nervous circles on her notepad. The moment was gone, but the foundation of their professional alliance was, against all odds, confirmed. They could do this. They could work together.

It was at that precise moment that the carefully maintained peace of the library was shattered by a sharp, hissed argument from a nearby table.

—You haven’t even looked at the requirements document! — Julia’s voice was a strained whisper, tight with frustration. —All you’ve done is complain about the topic! We have to present our preliminary concept next week!

Andrés lounged back in his chair, the picture of infuriating nonchalance. —Relax, Julia. It’s a stupid app for finding lost keys or whatever. We’ll throw something together. It’s not like this is a real company.

—It’s worth forty percent of our grade! — she shot back, her hands clenched on the table. —I’m not going to fail because you can’t be bothered to contribute!

—Then you do it, — he shrugged, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. —You’re so good at following rules. You and your color-coded notes. Have fun.

The dismissal was absolute. Julia stared at him, her face a mask of hurt and fury. She shoved her books into her bag with jerky movements, her shoulders trembling. As she stood up to leave, her gaze swept the library, a desperate search for an escape from her humiliation.

Her eyes landed on Ethan.

He was looking right at her, having been an unwilling audience to the entire exchange. Their eyes locked. The look on Julia’s face was not just one of anger at Andrés; it was a profound, gut-wrenching regret. She looked at Ethan—calm, prepared, sitting with his partner who was clearly his intellectual equal—and then back at the vacuous, lazy boy she had chosen over him. The contrast was a brutal, self-inflicted wound.

Her expression softened, pleading. It was a silent apology, a desperate, wordless cry for the road not taken. She held his gaze for a moment longer, a clear, unambiguous signal, before turning and rushing out of the library, leaving a fuming Andrés behind.

Ethan felt a strange pang, not of longing, but of pity. The solution he and Ana Lucía had just cemented felt more valuable than ever. He turned back to his laptop.

—We should probably focus on the ESG data parameters, — he said, his voice deliberately even, pulling them both back to the safety of their project.

Ana Lucía had witnessed the entire silent exchange. She had seen the way Julia had looked at Ethan, a look dripping with what could only be described as buyer’s remorse. She said nothing, merely giving another tight nod. —Yes. The parameters.

But the problem had now subtly shifted. The professional alliance between Ethan and Ana Lucía was holding, a temporary dam against the past. But a new pressure was building upstream.

Later that day, as Ethan was leaving the computer lab, Julia was waiting for him in the hallway, leaning against the wall as if by chance.

—Ethan, — she said, stepping into his path, offering him a small, wistful smile. —Hi.

—Julia, — he replied, his tone neutral. He didn’t stop walking, forcing her to fall into step beside him.

—I… saw you in the library with Ana Lucía, — she began, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. —Your project seems like it’s off to a good start.

—It’s progressing, — he said, noncommittally.

—It must be nice, — she sighed, her voice laced with a calculated vulnerability. —Having a partner who actually… you know, contributes. Andrés is… impossible. I don’t know what I was thinking.

She let the statement hang there, an open invitation for him to agree, to commiserate, to welcome her back into his orbit.

Ethan stopped and turned to face her. —You have to find a way to make it work with him, Julia. It’s the assignment.

—I know, but… — She looked up at him through her lashes, a move that had once made his heart stutter. Now, it just felt practiced. —It’s just so frustrating. I remember studying with you. It was so easy. You made everything make sense.

She was tapping directly into the history he had shared with Ana Lucía, trying to position herself as the original, the one who truly understood him. The one he should want to be with.

—That was a long time ago, Julia, — he said, his voice gentle but firm. He could see the desperation in her eyes, the regret that was now curdling into a new kind of pursuit. The solution of his professional partnership with Ana Lucía had been a fortress against their shared past, but it had no defenses against this new, external threat. Julia, stung by her own poor choice and seeing the quality of man she had lost, wanted to rewind time. And her desire to get close to him again was a complication he did not need, a potential earthquake that could shatter the fragile truce he was desperately trying to maintain.