Chapter 3
469 Words
I pointed to the electronic tickets in my email. "Your flight leaves at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. If I hadn't found out, when were you planning to tell me? Or were you never going to tell me at all? Were you planning to keep me in the dark while I stayed up night after night working on my model?"
Sophia's wounded expression froze. David stopped with the used napkin still in his hand.
I gave them a cold smile, picked up my bag, and stood.
"Did you invite me here because you wanted to see me, or because you wanted something from me?"
Neither of them answered.
I walked away without looking back.
David called the moment I got home.
"Emma, what was wrong with you today? Why were you making those snide comments at the coffee shop? Do you have any idea how upset Sophia was?"
I gave a humorless laugh. "Did you really not understand what I meant?"
"Are you jealous of Sophia? Wake up. I only agreed to keep her company because you needed to focus on your model!" His voice rose until he was nearly shouting. "I was trying to help, and you turned around and accused us of sneaking around behind your back. And what about your model? How many times have I asked you to send me a copy so I can back it up? You keep putting it off. What is that supposed to mean? I'm your boyfriend. Why are you treating me like a thief?"
I stopped listening and hung up.
Then I opened my computer and logged back into UniLink.
I applied to CIT through Restrictive Early Action. This time, I didn't hesitate.
The next day, Sophia began posting updates from their trip on i********:.
Palm trees, ocean views, strawberry ice cream, and cocktails filled her feed.
She also posted intimate photos of herself with my boyfriend. In one, their shadows were kissing on the beach beneath a caption consisting of a single dark blue heart.
Someone left a comment.
A: [You two make such a cute couple!]
Sophia replied with a shy emoji.
I didn't like the post, but I didn't unfollow her either.
David kept pestering me with messages every day.
David: Stop sulking. Sophia and I only went away together because we knew you needed to focus and didn't want to disturb you. Send me the model. I'll back it up for you.
Every message came back to the same thing: my model.
I opened my computer and embedded a permanent, tamper-proof digital watermark in the core code, marking the algorithm as mine.
An acceptance email from CIT arrived in my inbox 1 week later.
I had barely opened it when someone knocked on my door.
David and Sophia were standing outside, both noticeably tanned from their vacation.
- Writer
