What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 122

However, in the days immediately following the New Year, everyone was still somewhat stuck in the lazy, relaxed mindset of the holidays. People were physically sitting in the office, but their minds were miles away.

In the Veridian Future office, Kaia had just wrapped up a video conference with a partner when her assistant, Laura, knocked and entered, holding a wrapped gift box.

"Dr. Chavez, Mr. Sanders had this sent over. He said it's a New Year's gift for you. Everyone in the office got one," Laura said happily, placing the elegant deep blue box on the desk.

"Everyone got one?" Kaia smiled. "Got it."

Laura gathered the signed documents and left. Kaia's eyes fell on the box.

There was no brand logo on it, but the quality felt exceptional.

Since it was a New Year's gift Silas Sanders had given to everyone in the office, she naturally wasn't going to turn it down.

Untying the delicate ribbon, she opened the box to find a platinum brooch inside. It was shaped like minimalist rose petals, with a modest but flawlessly colored blue sapphire set in the center.

Underneath it lay a card containing just three words: To the future.

There were no unnecessary pleasantries, just three incredibly weighty words, signed with Silas's name at the bottom.

Kaia held the brooch in her palm, the cold metal slowly warming against her skin.

A moment later, she placed it back in the box.

Finnian had recovered from his cold, but his mood seemed permanently cast in shadow.

He still seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about Noelle not staying for lunch at the villa. He never brought it up out loud, but he used a silent, brooding tension as a warning, reminding Kaia that her inability to tolerate Noelle for even a single meal was unacceptable.

Kaia couldn't be bothered to explain herself over something so trivial because she had a feeling a massive storm was about to hit Aethelstan Biopharma.

Around 3:00 PM, Finnian suddenly showed up at Veridian Future's office building.

Kaia had just stepped out of a meeting and hadn't even reached her office before Finnian cornered her in the hallway.

He looked as though he had just come straight from an important executive meeting—his suit was immaculate, but his brow was heavy with anxiety.

"Kaia, we need to talk." Finnian's tone was dead serious.

Yet, he didn't seem to have any other choice. Technical breakthroughs were like high-level math—you either knew how to do it, or you didn't. No amount of wishing could teach you otherwise.

Kaia's pride was something she had earned herself; she didn't need anyone's charity.

"I'll have a new budget proposal sent over this afternoon. Please..."

"I have a second condition," Kaia interrupted before he could finish.

Finnian's dark eyes narrowed.

Kaia offered a polite, purely professional smile. "All public promotions, internal reports, and future revenue documents for this project must explicitly and permanently state that I, Kaia Chavez, am the original contributor of the core breakthrough technology and the initial framework. Not Noelle Lawrence, and not anyone else. Also, the intellectual property derived from this new technology must belong one hundred percent to Veridian Future. Aethelstan will only hold the licensing rights."

Finnian's eyes widened slightly as he stared at her in silence for a moment. Then, he nodded. "Fine. No problem."

Having secured Finnian's agreement, Kaia didn't spare him a second glance. Holding her documents tight, she hurried off to her next meeting.

In the General Manager's office at Aethelstan Bio, Noelle immediately stood up from her chair when the door opened and Finnian walked in. A spark of hope lit up her eyes. "What did Kaia say? Did she agree to help us fix it?"