The Breaking Point of Love

The Scent of 5

Chapter 5

Over the years, Matthias and Celeste had rarely seen each other. Yet, even from just a few encounters, Matthias could tell that she was no longer the confident and spirited person she had once been.

Matthias thought back to the Celeste he knew from the past He could never have associated the word “insecure” with that individual. He didn’t know much about Celeste’s marriage to Trevor, but he was completely clueless about her sorry state which was essentially an open secret.

He had his suspicions but didn’t voice them, Instead, he sincerely encouraged, “Falling behind for a time doesn’t matter. Your ability and talent surpass that of most geniuses. As long as you’re still passionate about this field, it’s never too late to start again.

“Don’t forget that you were our teacher’s favorite student throughout his entire career.”

Celeste smiled as she listened to him. “If he heard that, he’d probably scoff and say that he didn’t have much of a choice and could only settle on the least bad one.”

earlier that he

As she thought of her wise but sharp–tongued mentor, Celeste’s smile faltered. “I saw on the news.

also came back for the celebration. How has he been?”

“He’s doing well, though he’s often annoyed by us–his ever–disappointing students–popping up in front of him from time to time,” Matthias replied.

Celeste chuckled, her mind wandering back to the days when she toiled away working on thesis papers under her mentor every day.

“Come back, Cel,” Matthias urged.

Celeste gripped her cup tightly. After taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, “Alright.”

She had been passionate about artificial intelligence since she was a child, and she loved anything related to this field. But because of her love for Trevor, she had put her dream on hold for seven years.

It would take time to catch up after such a long absence. But she believed that with hard work, it wasn’t too late for her.

Matthias asked, “When do you think you’ll return?”

“I still need to transition out of my current job. It might take a while,” Celeste explained.

There’s no

back, a little more

checked the time. “I’m meeting someone who’s supposedly a genius in algorithms. They just returned to the country recently. Since we bumped into each other, why don’t

her head. “I don’t know your team well.

“Alright.”

She had seen Teagen in

Celeste greeted, “Hello, Teagan.”

greeting. She frowned

+25 BONUS

Chapter 5

today. So, I came to

hadn’t brought this up, Teagan would have forgotten that she graduated from Trellis College too. But aside from current students and staff, the attendees today were

unknown nobody

as she didn’t embarrass the Fleming family, Teagan couldn’t be bothered to say

the point, she said, “Nicholas says he misses your cooking. I’ll have

older than Jordyn. With her strained marriage and demanding career, Teagan had rarely been involved in her son’s life. Over the years, his rebelliousness had only grown, making it even harder for her to manage

cooking, Teagan had frequently sent him over to Celeste and Trevor’s

looked down

She did her best to

now, as she and Trevor were preparing for divorce, she no longer felt the need to endure

Al field, she intended to dedicate her time to meaningful pursuits. After the divorce, she would have no

hadn’t expected Celeste to refuse her. After all, Celeste had often humbled herself to

Celeste must have something important going on. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have passed up the chance

this, Celeste couldn’t help but smile bitterly to herself. For years,

undeserved, but Celeste wouldn’t

a

clearly there for

course, didn’t tell them that Celeste was her sister–in–law. She replied indifferently, “A friend.” “Oh, a friend…”

that impression. Aside from one or two people admiring Celeste’s striking looks and slender legs, the rest paid