Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 196

"Absolutely!"

The moment Dominic started talking shop, he lit up, totally in his element.

"Last year, barely any programmers would touch autonomous driving alone. Anyone working on it was always part of a big team, sometimes a whole company."

"But she? She went solo and still built a full, streamlined framework. That kind of talent is rare. She made it so much easier for everyone who came after—saved us a lot of trouble."

"After that competition, she was the hottest new face in AI. Even I thought about taking her on as a student."

He paused, then gave Emmy's shoulder a reassuring pat.

"But seriously, don't stress. Give yourself a couple more years, keep grinding, and you'll totally surpass her."

Emmy didn’t say anything else.

By the time she left the manor, it was already pitch black outside.

A sharp wind swept through, spinning leaves down onto her hair. She brushed them off and rubbed her arms, shivering a little.

She mumbled, "Time flies. It’s getting cold again."

She hurried back to her car and started the engine, ready to head home.

But as soon as she got on the overpass, the sky turned almost instantly. Rain came pouring down, pounding the windshield so hard it sounded like the world was ending. Ahead of her, a wall of red taillights lit up—traffic wasn’t moving at all.

It hit her then: she’d been so busy, she hadn’t even had lunch. Now her stomach was twisting in pain, cold sweat breaking out across her back.

Right then, her phone rang.

James's name lit up the screen. Emmy reached for it, her hand shaking.

"The rain’s getting heavy. Why aren’t you home yet?" His voice was low, a little tense under the calm.

"I... I forgot to eat," Emmy said, her voice weak. "I’m stuck on the overpass. My stomach really hurts..."

"Don’t hang up," James said quickly, his voice suddenly tight. "I’ll be there soon!"

Emmy curled up in the driver’s seat, clutching her stomach, the pain nearly making her black out.

Suddenly, someone knocked on her window, standing in the pouring rain.

The line was full of static, rain pounding so loud she could barely hear. She thought she could make out James’s hurried footsteps, his heavy breathing in the background.

But his voice came through, steady and sure. "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah. So much better." Emmy’s eyes burned, tears blurring her vision.

Just as she spoke, she glanced up—

A tall figure burst through the rain, stepping out from the yellow glow of the streetlamp.

He had no umbrella.

He was completely soaked, black pants plastered to his long legs, rainwater running down from his short hair and along his strong jaw.

He crossed the overpass in a few quick strides, like a storm-tossed hero, heading straight for her.

Emmy’s eyes went red in an instant, her nose stinging as she tried not to cry.

He reached the driver’s side in just a few steps and yanked open the door.