THE AURA KING

Ryan's POV I hated the Harrington family, but since getting married hid me away from my potentially cruel enemies in my father's mafia group and made me closer to the love of my life, I faked a smile as Benita cornered me in the hallway. She stared at me with contempt as I watched how her lips formed a thin line. "Ryan, make yourself useful for once. Go help Carol with her project. She waits in her room." Even so, I couldn't help but feel irritated at the audacity of sending me on an errand. Well, I couldn't blame them. It takes 66 days to fully form a habit and here I am spending four years taking care of this household since I got married to Claire. "I will help her," I replied. I walked slowly towards Carol's door, knocked, and waited for her response. While I waited for a response, this reminded me of the day that I just knocked and entered. I had shockingly met her going down on one of her cousins and she threatened me that if I ever spill, I'll be doomed. So, till today, no one ever knew. I waited. I almost knocked the second time when I heard Carol's voice. “Come in!” I opened the door and stepped inside as the hinges squeaked. She sat at her desk, her laptop glowing as her fingers tapped the keys. Posters of mech prototypes, mostly Claire’s designs, covered the walls. I didn't realize so much time had passed by. It has been two years since I entered this room and I'm always coming home every single day. I closed my eyes, heaved a sigh, and opened my eyes watching Carol. Carol glanced up as she forced a quick smile. "What does the project require?" I asked as I stood by the desk. She leaned back as she crossed her arms. "Update the proprietary mech AI code. Then sell it as stock to DuneForge." Huh? I wished I hadn't heard her at all. I wished she hadn't called me in the first place because DuneForge was our rival, and selling the code to them only means one thing — Transferring power to DuneForge which would destroy Claire’s company in the long process. And to worsen the situation, DuneForge is secretly owned by me! "I will not do that." I protested. I was expecting her to lash out and command me to do it. But I was surprised when she leaned forward and spoke to me with a firm tone. "Claire knows about it. She gave her approval." I hesitated. Claire would not betray her own work. Yet, if she had agreed, I trusted her judgment. She had built her family’s business into a national treasure in four years. I had supported her from the very first beginning, debugging her code at midnight, drafting pitches she claimed as her own. Even though it doesn't matter because I did it out of love. Still, those late nights weighed on me, and it got worse when I felt my contributions were invisible to her and her family. Still, I believed in her vision. “Are you sure Claire wanted this?” I asked again. And she just nodded. “Do you think I'll sabotage my family's business, for what?” She said, and I didn't have a choice than to comply. She didn't lash at me like she used to. Maybe they have started seeing me as family? I wore a faint smile. "Show me the code." I said. She slid the laptop toward me. I sat as I scanned the lines. The code was sloppy, riddled with bugs and weak encryption. I typed as I fixed inefficient loops and secured vulnerabilities. My fingers moved with precision as I refined the program, line by line. The work pulled me in and I continued. Claire’s success depended on this AI, and I had always been the one to catch its flaws before they became disasters. After seven hours, Carol stood. "I need to grab something from downstairs. Finish the update and sell the code. The DuneForge portal is already open." She left as the door clicked shut. I continued typing as I completed the updates. The screen displayed the DuneForge stock interface as the sell button blinked. My hand hovered over the mouse as I began to doubt the credibility of Carol's story. Why would Claire approve this? The company was her life. I had seen her pour everything into it, and I had been there, fixing bugs she never knew about, writing proposals she delivered flawlessly. Selling to DuneForge made no sense, but Carol’s words echoed, ‘Claire knows.’ I was still in my thoughts when the door swung open. It was Claire. She walked slowly to my side. “What are you doing?” She asked. “And where is Carol?” She added. I wanted to tell her everything Carol told me, but she beat me to it as she saw the screen and stopped. "Ryan, what are you doing?" Her voice cracked, and immediately I realized she didn't know anything about Carol selling the codes. I stood as my chair scraped the floor. "Claire, I can explain." "You are selling our code to DuneForge?" She stepped closer as she read the screen. Her voice rose with accusation. "Our proprietary AI? You wanted to sell it to our rival!?” "It is not what it seems," I said as I finally realized what they had done. "Carol instructed me to do this. She said, you approved." “Carol said that?” Claire asked and, luckily, Carol came inside. “What's the commotion here?” She asked and stared at Claire, then at me. “What are you doing here?” Carol asked, and my eyes widened in surprise. “What did you mean, you called me inside.” “When was the last time I called you inside this room?” she asked. “Your mother told me you needed my help and I helped. You told me to sell the code!” I yelled. Claire shook her head. "You want to put the blame on my cousin because you were caught? That is low, Ryan." Suddenly, Carol burst out in tears as it streamed down her face. She tightened her fists as she rumpled her shirt against her chest. "Claire, I had no idea my door was unlocked. I never let him in. He got in and thought he'd be fast, considering he is highly skilled. He wants to ruin our family, Claire." I stared at her. "You told me to sell it. You said Claire knew." Carol shook her head as her sobs grew louder. "He lies. I would never betray our family." Claire turned to me as she looked at me coldly, "You made this worse. I caught you, and you still lie?" I heard footsteps echoing from the hallway. Benita entered, followed by Harold, the family butler. Benita’s eyes locked on me. "What is happening here? Ryan, what trouble did you cause?" Claire pointed at the laptop. "He attempted to sell our mech AI to DuneForge. I saw it myself." Benita gasped as her hand rose to her necklace. "Pathetic! I knew he was worthless. Now he proves himself a traitor." Harold stepped forward. "This action is unacceptable, sir. You jeopardize the company’s future." I backed against the desk as my face flushed in anger or maybe more into confusion. Their accusations didn't make sense to me. "Carol lied. She set me up." "Stop it," Claire said. "You would destroy four years of my work because you envy my success?" “Envy?” I scoffed. *I spent the same exact years supporting you, rewriting your code in the early hours, crafting pitches you presented without crediting me. I had stayed up nights with my eyes burning, to fix your navigation algorithms. I had written investor decks you used to secure millions, never asking for recognition. Your success was my pride, even if you never saw it.* I wished I had said all that to her, but I could only keep muttering, "Envy?” then added, “I have supported you every step, Claire." She laughed hysterically. "Supported me? By sitting at home while I build this company? No. I am finished. My mother was right, I should have disposed of you a long time ago," Then she heaved a sigh and broke me with just four words. "I want a divorce."