Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband? novel Chapter 264

Ryan shook his head, forcing a smile. “Why didn’t Lysander come with you?”

“He had something to take care of,” Giselle replied casually, evading the question. She took his hand and led him to the sofa, sitting down at a polite distance. They chatted idly for a few moments before she steered the conversation toward what she really wanted to ask.

“Ryan, has your brother actually finalized the partnership with Mr. Whitmore?”

By now, Ryan had calmed down, his mood much improved; he was happy to answer whatever Giselle asked. He replied without hesitation, “Yeah, that’s right.”

Giselle continued smoothly, “So does your brother have access to the algorithm Mr. Whitmore developed?”

“You mean the Atlas Language Model?” Ryan tilted his head, thinking for a moment. “Of course he does. Last week, when Forrest gave my brother a demo, I tagged along, though honestly, I didn’t understand a thing. I just heard my brother say the algorithm is impressive—even the Federal Security Bureau is interested in bringing it on board to help with security and data intelligence work. But the details are way over my head.”

A flash of excitement lit up Giselle’s eyes.

Her father’s words had been right—this algorithm had caught the attention of the government, and every major player was scrambling to secure a deal. The potential was limitless.

Lysander might have refused to negotiate with Forrest, but the Harvey family hadn’t given up. Still, Charles knew better than to risk offending Lysander for the sake of a deal with Forrest. He understood where to draw the line, and so he’d found another way forward.

If they couldn’t win the partnership, then they’d just have to get their hands on the algorithm directly.

They still had a shot.

Remembering her father’s advice, Giselle lowered her lashes and put on a look of quiet heartbreak—enough to catch Ryan’s attention.

“Giselle, what’s wrong?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

When she didn’t answer right away, Ryan grew more anxious, asking again and again until Giselle finally looked down, hesitating, and then confessed that Lysander and Forrest didn’t get along. She said that, to avoid upsetting Lysander, her family had given up this rare chance at collaboration.

“My dad was really hoping this deal would help our family reach the next level, but… well…”

Ryan’s face darkened with anger. “How could Lysander do that? Just because he can’t stand Forrest, he makes your family give up the partnership? That’s not fair. I’m calling him right now—”

He was already reaching for his phone when Giselle stopped him. “Don’t. I gave it up willingly.”