Chapter 39
"What are you making a fuss about now?" James and Amelia both turned to look at me, James's tone impatient.
I had no desire to argue. "Just consider it me being unreasonable."
Something inside me that had already been cracked instantly collapsed.
Maybe this was the difference between caring and not caring.
Amelia made breakfast once, and it was "hard work," but my carefully prepared daily breakfasts were taken for granted. One mistake and he completely dismissed all my previous efforts.
After making breakfast, I had to take Isabella to school with no time to eat myself, yet I never heard James say once that I should eat breakfast on time.
James suddenly stood up, walked over to me in a few steps, and grabbed my arm. "You didn't come home at all last night. Where were you?"
He paused for a moment, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice slightly hoarse. "I kept waiting for you to come back."
I looked up in surprise, my eyes scanning that handsome face, trying to judge if his words were genuine.
His thin lips parted, about to speak, when a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Mr. Smith, it's me, Armando."
James frowned.
I saw a clear flash of irritation in his eyes.
I stopped my steps toward the stairs and watched James go to open the door.
I knew why Armando had come, and I really wanted to see James's reaction in person.
"Mr. Smith, this Mr. Carroll insisted on seeing you. I had no choice but to bring him over." James's assistant Dane explained helplessly.
"This better be important."
"Mr. Smith..." Armando's voice trembled, his wandering gaze meeting mine before quickly looking away. "ZeroSpecter contacted me, but he doesn't want to work with you."
His voice grew smaller and smaller.
Even though James had his back to me, I could imagine his murderous look.
The oppressive atmosphere quickly spread.
"What did he say?" James's voice was practically squeezed through his teeth.
Armando stammered, "I don't know. ZeroSpecter just said he won't work with you, didn't give a reason."
After speaking, he looked at me nervously again.
For Armando, James's silence was like slow torture, using silence as a blade to cut through his fragile defenses.
He hoped I would speak up at this moment, let him leave, let him escape this hellish scene.
People couldn't change the bad news, so they took it out on the messenger.
Right now, the person most afraid of being blamed was Armando.
"Give me ZeroSpecter's contact information. I'll reach out to him myself." James handed over his phone.
"What?" Armando held James's phone, at a loss, instinctively looking at me.
"James, maybe ZeroSpecter thinks contacting him through others isn't sincere enough. Why not wait for a better time?" Amelia gently rubbed James's back, speaking softly.
Though she didn't understand the technical details, her words made sense.
James's tense back relaxed, and his anger gradually dissipated.
He must have pinned his hopes on the TechNova Summit in Harmony City.
"Ms. Brown, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now." Armando looked relieved, his gaze earnest.
What I'd asked Armando to do was finished, so naturally he didn't want to stay any longer.
After the door closed, I noticed both James and Amelia looking at me.
"He called you Ms. Brown?" Amelia and James spoke at the same time.
Amelia asked, "You went with James yesterday to meet people. Do you know why ZeroSpecter refused to meet with James?"
The seemingly simple questions subtly reminded James of something.
James looked at me with clear suspicion. "Did you go back and contact Armando again?"
His suspicion wasn't without reason.
Though I was still nominally James's wife, I was also a partner at Shadow Circuit Studio. In certain situations, we had conflicting interests.
His assistant Dane had come to pick me up and must have seen me with Andrew looking for Armando, and would definitely tell him.
"Yes." I told the truth: "Armando is an intern at Shadow Circuit Studio. He broke through their defense system, and Andrew was worried he might leak confidential information."
"An intern broke through the defense system?" James laughed lightly.
His mockery was thick.
If word got out in the industry that a tech company's defense system was breached, it would indeed be a joke.
I felt displeased. "Armando caught a vulnerability in the defense system through an insider, which gave him the opportunity. I already strengthened Shadow Circuit Studio's defense system last night. No one will be able to break through again!"
The great ZeroSpecter's defense system having a bug would be embarrassing if it got out. James's mockery felt like a slap in my face.
When I came out after changing clothes, James and Amelia still hadn't left. James looked me up and down, frowning. "You're going out again?"
"Yes."
"You're not allowed to go."
I finished putting on my shoes and looked at James. "Why not?"
"Sophia, if you really want to work, why not have James arrange a position for you at his company? What does it look like for you to work at someone else's company? People who don't know better will think the Smith family can't even support one woman." Amelia tried to persuade me earnestly.
Looking at James, he didn't object to Amelia's words.
I immediately understood.
While I was upstairs getting ready, Amelia hadn't been idle and must have said plenty.
"Thanks for your concern, but where I work is my freedom. You don't need to worry about it."
Almost the second my hand touched the doorknob, James's voice came from behind. "Sophia, you have to choose—me or Andrew."
My hand on the doorknob tightened then released. I tried to appear calm. "First of all, I'm working normally. This isn't a situation where I have to choose between you and Andrew."
Meeting James's cold gaze, I didn't look away.
Countless times before, facing those cold eyes, my heart would ache and I'd instinctively want to avoid them.
This time, I felt no pain. Looking into those eyes, my heart was completely calm.
I thought my gaze must be even colder than James's.
Panic flashed through his eyes.
"Second." I heard my own voice, slow and clear. "Even if I don't choose you, so what?"
In that instant, the iceberg collapsed, the towering snow mountain shattered, and his various emotions had nowhere to hide.
I withdrew my gaze, turned, and left calmly.
James had never chosen me, so I didn't want to choose him either.
Once a scale tipped, it was hard to balance it again.
There wasn't much going on today, so I rested in Shadow Circuit Studio's break room. When I opened my eyes again, it was already afternoon.
Through the curtains that weren't fully drawn, I could see the sky filled with red clouds outside, the sunset illuminating the towering buildings.
I'd actually slept that long.
It was very quiet, very comfortable.
Picking up my phone, I realized it had somehow been switched to silent mode, causing me to miss Indigo's call.
I quickly called back.
"Sophia, were you busy today?" Indigo's loving voice came through the receiver.
"Yes, Grandma, so I didn't look at my phone."
"I knew it. Juliet said you didn't dare answer my call." Indigo rambled on. "You and I get along best. How could you not dare answer my call? But Juliet said you didn't want to come back."
"No, Grandma." I denied it.
"Sophia, come back this afternoon and keep me company, okay? Let Juliet see whether you dare to come back or not."
It had been a while since Indigo left the hospital, but I hadn't visited her or even called. Yet she didn't blame me.
Juliet and Indigo were on the same team—how could she say such things? Clearly Indigo was making excuses for herself.
"Okay, I'll come back now and show Juliet whether I dare or not." I couldn't help smiling.
"Remember to bring James with you." Indigo didn't give me a chance to refuse and hung up directly.
I belatedly realized I'd fallen into Indigo's trap.
But I didn't plan to go with James.
However, James wouldn't let me have my way.
Going downstairs, I saw James's car parked below, the double-R logo flashy and eye-catching.
Through the lowered window, his handsome face was striking.
I gritted my teeth.
James was definitely doing this on purpose.