Chapter 120
No.1
The rejection of the truffle hung in the air between Elisa and August, a silent, toxic cloud that only they could feel. The rest of the table resumed their quiet, tense meals, the clinking of silverware masking the death of the marriage.
Suddenly, the massive plasma screen at the far end of the dining room flared to life.
Spencer Chambers, August's younger cousin who ran the London division, appeared on the screen.Spencer was the only member of the family who despised the corporate bloodsport. He wore a casual sweater, holding a glass of champagne.
"Happy New Year, family!" Spencer's cheerful voice boomed through the room's surround sound.
He greeted the elders, then his eyes scanned the camera feed of the table. He smiled warmly when he spotted Elisa.
"Elisa! So good to see you," Spencer called out,genuine respect in his voice. "I read the preliminary reports on the Aethel Al integration. Your architectural work is brilliant. Make sure you get some rest this weekend, you're carrying that whole
project."
No.2
It was the first time all night someone had spoken to Elisa as a human being, acknowledging her brain rather than her status as a prop.
Elisa felt a microscopic fraction of warmth in her chest.She offered the screen a small, polite nod.
At the head of the table, Germaine slowly set down her wine glass. The sound was sharp.
"Spencer is too generous," Germaine said, her voice cold and echoing in the large room. She didn't look at the screen; she looked directly at Elisa.
"A woman's obsession with her career is a modern disease," Germaine stated, her eyes locking onto Elisa with ruthless judgment. "As the wife of the Chambers patriarch, your primary duty is to secure the bloodline. Not to play with computers while the family legacy stagnates."
Germaine's eyes were cold and unyielding. She knew full well that it was August who had strictly forbidden children, forcing the girl to take pills for years. But in the ruthless calculus of the Chambers family, the patriarch could have no flaws. This lowborn, useless woman had to bear the absolute,public blame for the family's stagnant bloodline.
The table went dead silent.
No.3
Elisa's jaw tightened. She slowly turned her head to her left, looking at August.
She didn't expect him to defend her honor.But she expected him to at least defend his own lie. It was August who had demanded they never have children. It was August who forced the strict birth control.
Elisa looked at her husband, waiting for him to speak.
Her blood instantly turned to freon.
August wasn't looking at Germaine. He wasn't looking at Elisa.
His head was tilted slightly downward. His hands were hidden beneath the heavy white linen tablecloth. His eyes were locked onto the glowing screen of his phone resting on his thigh.
A slow, dark, highly sexual smirk pulled at the corner of August's mouth. His thumb moved quickly, typing a message.
No.4
Elisa's breath caught in her throat. She instinctively looked across the table.
Allena was also looking down. Both of her hands
were hidden beneath the table. Her shoulders were shaking slightly as she bit her lower lip, desperately trying to suppress a giggle.
Elisa felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. She slowly shifted her gaze to the right.
Behind August, the massive floor-to-ceiling windows looked out into thepitch-black Aspen night. The dark glass acted as a perfect mirror for the brightly lit dining room.
In the reflection of the dark glass, Elisa saw exactly what was happening under the table. Allena had her phone resting on her lap beneath the heavy mahogany wood. The bright, glowing screen of her device cut through the shadows, illuminating the hidden space perfectly for the window to catch. In that harsh,glowing light, Elisa clearly saw Allena's left hand stretched across the gap, her manicured fingers explicitly tracing the inside of August's thigh.
And on the reflection of August's phone screen,Elisa saw the text message he had just hit send on.
No.5
Wine cellar. Ten minutes after dinner.
A deafening, high-pitched ringing exploded in Elisa's ears.
While his mother publicly humiliated her for being barren, her husband was sitting right next to her,silently flirting with the mistress who had stolen her life.
It was a level of disrespect so profound, so absolute, that it transcended anger. It wasn't just betrayal. It was the complete erasure of her existenceas a human being.
The physical nausea didn't return. The rage didn't spike.
Instead, a terrifying, absolute silence fell over Elisa's mind. The final, microscopic string tethering her to August Chambers snapped.
Elisa placed her hands on the edge of the table.
No.6
She stood up.
The heavy mahogany chair scraped violently against the floor, the harsh screech cutting off Germaine mid-sentence.
Every head at the table snapped toward her.
Elisa didn't look at Germaine. She didn't look at Allena. She didn't even look at August.
Her face was carved from solid ice. Her black eyes were completely, utterly dead.
She picked up her encrypted tablet from the table beside her plate. Her thumb swiped across the screen, illuminating a complex data chart for a split second.
"Excuse me," Elisa said. Her voice was a flat,mechanical hum, devoid of any pitch or emotion."My lead engineer just flagged a critical data anomaly in the JHU servers. I need to address it immediately."
No.7
She didn't wait for a response. She turned her back on the table. Her black dress swept across the floor as she walked toward the grand double doors. Her spine was perfectly straight, her steps even and unhurried.
August finally looked up from his phone. He frowned, watching her back retreat. His hand twitched, a brief instinct to stop her.
But he didn't move. He placed his phone face down on the table, picked up his wine glass, and let her walk out into the cold.
He had no idea he had just watched her leave him forever.3