Part 2The Moon Never Returns

With the last shred of denial torn away, I lost control, screaming at him, demanding to know why.

Toby was silent for a long time.

“There’s no why,” he said finally, his voice flat. “I was in love with her. I still think about her sometimes. It’s that simple.”

He watched my frantic outburst with a calm detachment. “Olivia, we’re married now. You don’t need to obsess over my past.”

The irony was suffocating.

“What if she came back now?” I challenged him. “What if she asked you to join her new AI lab? Would you go?”

He didn’t answer.

He just reached for me, trying to pull me into an embrace.

I slapped his hand away, my eyes locked on his, demanding an answer.

Toby sighed. “Alright, stop overthinking this. Go to bed.”

His composure made me feel like an irrational, shrewish wife.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. I pushed again, my voice trembling. “Would you go, or not?”

The comment section had mentioned that Isabelle had just returned to the country to start her own AI lab and was looking for a head of algorithms. Her fans were ecstatic, convinced this was the epic reunion they’d been waiting for, completely disregarding me, his legal wife.

Toby’s lips pressed into a thin line. After a long silence, he said, “No, I wouldn’t go. Happy now?”

Before the words had even fully settled in the air, his phone rang.

The caller ID displayed a single, glaring name: Isabelle.

Without a second thought, Toby grabbed his phone and started to walk away.

I lunged forward, my fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. A tear finally escaped, hitting the cloth and spreading into a small, dark stain.

“Answer it here!”

We stood locked in a standoff. The ringing weakened, and perhaps fearing he would miss the call, Toby actually answered it right in front of me.

His voice was hoarse when he spoke.

“Isabelle.”

Just one word, spoken with a depth of feeling that twisted my insides.

A soft, gentle voice replied from the other end.

“It’s me.”

I felt Toby’s entire body go rigid. He was so stunned he forgot to pull his shirt from my grasp.

Isabelle’s voice carried a hint of melancholy.

“I’m so sorry to bother you this late. But… I didn’t know who else to call. The head of algorithms at my lab is causing a scene. He’s refusing to even show up for the final presentation, let alone come back to the States with me. But the project launch date here is fixed, and we can’t postpone it.”

“I know this is a huge ask,” she continued, her voice soft and pleading, “but could you… could you come and save me? Just this once? Please, my algorithm genius.”