Leaving The Genius’s World Chapter 09

Leaving The Genius’s World Chapter 09

Sadie’s face went pale.

I wiped my tears and kept my expression cold, like a professional.

“That wasn’t protection. You just liked me being the weak one.”

Theo shook his head over and over. “No. Audrey, no.”

He reached for me. The next second, an arm wrapped steadily around my shoulder.

Noah stood beside me. He glanced down at Theo’s grip on my wrinkled skirt.

“Mr. Anderson. She’s already made it clear she doesn’t want to be touched. Respect that.”

Theo’s eyes landed on Noah’s hand on my shoulder. “You two…”

Noah was calm. “We’re engaged.”

Theo went rigid. “Impossible. Audrey is mine…”

“She doesn’t belong to anyone.” Noah cut him off. “Including me. She chooses to be with me.”

He looked at Theo.

“That arrogant algorithm of yours could never measure what Audrey’s worth. She doesn’t orbit anyone

anymore. She’s her own light. She doesn’t need your pity.”

In that moment, Theo looked like even his last bit of strength was gone.

Owen and Wyatt fell silent too.

That night, on behalf of the studio, I formally rejected their request for exclusive text authorization.

The world has so much text devoured by Al. It can lose one thing I wrote.

That night at the summit, negative news spread about Theo’s team.

Without the cultural data they needed, their emotion algorithm project flatlined. Investors bailed.

The geniuses’ ivory tower came crashing down. They finally hit rock bottom.

Half a month later, Theo went to Egypt.

He flew from Los Angeles to Cairo, then transferred to Luxor.

The boy who’d almost always had someone arrange his travel since childhood dragged his suitcase alone

into the dust of Luxor’s West Bank for the first time.

The closer he got to the Theban Mountains, the drier the air became. Wind whipped fine sand against his

face, and soon there was a layer of grit in his mouth.

He found the heritage site where I’d worked. In the simple archive room, footage from years ago was

preserved.

In one video, I wore a faded outdoor jacket and knelt by a low worktable, recording a set of tomb images stroke by stroke.

I’d just arrived then. My stomach still hadn’t healed, and I was painfully thin.

The researcher showing him around said, “Audrey didn’t know anything at first. She couldn’t do restoration or archaeology.”

“But she was stubborn. If she couldn’t hear clearly, she’d listen again. At first no one believed an American girl could accomplish anything. But man, sincerity can create miracles.”

Theo stood there for a long time without moving. Then it hit him-the spicy chicken. Three years ago, he’d brought it home and set it aside without a second thought.

Audrey had just gotten back from a stomach exam. She’d told him what the doctor said. He’d already forgotten. He used to think that because he was smart, he understood the world better than she did.

Now he understood. Being smart was just an ability, not an exemption from being wrong.

He rushed out of the archive room, eyes red.

Out in the distance, I’d just wrapped up a site survey. My shoes were caked in sand. Noah was loading my camera bag into the car.

Theo came stumbling toward me.