My mentor finally gave in, his voice heavy with finality. “Anya is dead. She didn’t want you to feel guilty, so she asked me not to tell you.”
Liam’s world seemed to crumble in an instant. His body trembled as he shook his head in disbelief, his voice barely a whisper, “Impossible. She must be angry with me. She’s punishing me… right?“}
My mentor, exhausted by his persistence, led Liam to my grave.§
There, in the quiet of the cemetery, Liam knelt before the stone that marked my final resting place, his tears falling as if he had lost everything: his parents, his future, his world. It was a sorrow unlike any other.”
And all of this reached me through my mentor, who watched him with an almost detached air.
With a serious face, my mentor remarked, “Anya, you still had a knack for attracting rich men. A man 1.8 meters tall, crying every day, his heart breaking over you.“>
“But you know,” he continued, his tone shifting slightly, “I don’t care about him. Even if you had been with him, he shouldn’t have interfered with your studies.”
There was still resentment in my mentor’s words. “In the future, when you’re in a classified unit, I won’t be able to protect you. You’ll be on your own then.“}
***
Research. Study. Development.
Each task was a chore, a monotonous rhythm that filled my days.
But amidst the endless grind, there was a peculiar sense of peace.
Throughout my four years at university, I had either been wrapped up in Liam’s arms or buried deep in the lab, lost in experiments.
I had no other distractions. The only mercy I had received from the heavens was a sharp mind that kept me afloat.”
When Liam disappeared from my life, I felt a strange relief. No more unexpected calls, no more skipping class to meet him.” Leaving him wasn’t as painful as I’d once imagined. I had put him on a pedestal, but when he fell, it was as if nothing had changed.} They say wise people never fall in love and lonely kings spend their time chasing their PhDs.
And so I did, year after year.
That was how the next five years passed, my heart as calm as still water, life unfolding quietly around me.
I never expected to cross paths with Liam again.”
Yet, somehow, fate had other plans.
We met again at a conference on military–to–civilian transition.}
I stood there, a cold, efficient machine, reading from scripts, tossing out numbers and parameters like a seasoned expert in front of the political and business elites.}
The eyes in the room were like a mix of emotions: some filled with regret, pitying the beauty marred by a scar on my face, others admiring my youth, astonished by how such a girl could command a room in a military field and some were so absorbed they were furiously taking notes.}
But there was one gaze that burned through the crowd, too intense to ignore.
I lifted my eyes and there he was, Liam.}
I didn’t linger. I quickly turned away, pretending he was just another face in the crowd, a stranger I had no reason to acknowledge.” Once I finished the presentation, I asked if there were any questions.
And then, Liam stood. His mouth opened and closed like he was trying to find the right words. Finally, he asked, “Are you married?“}
I furrowed my brows, annoyance creeping in. “What’s it to you?“}
The room froze for a moment before I gestured at security. “There’s a troublemaker here. Please escort him out.“}
Liam squatted outside the conference room, waiting as if time meant nothing to him.
“Anya, come here.“}
His voice sliced through the air and a sharp pang shot through my chest. That tone was like he was calling a dog. I couldn’t help but remember the countless times he had called me like that, high and mighty, only when he wanted something from me.
I ignored him.
He grabbed my arm, trying to drag me away, but I quickly turned to my colleagues nearby, pleading for help. “I don’t know him!”
Most of the people in our field were men and they immediately stepped in, forming a protective barrier between us.§
Liam’s temper flared. “Five years and now you have a whole army of knights in shining armor? We slept together for four years and you don’t even recognize me?“}
A wave of heat rushed to my head. Why did he have to drag up the past like that?}
My colleagues stared at me, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and confusion. Who in the research institute didn’t know that I was nothing more than a heartless machine focused only on my work?
“You’ve got the wrong person,” I said, my voice cold.
I tried to walk away, but his tone softened, a last–ditch effort to break through my resolve. “Please, let’s talk. Okay?”