Her AI... BOYFRIEND? - CHAPTER 2 — The Weight of Silence

The morning air bit at her cheeks as Ember stood outside the bus stop, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck. The cold always made the city quieter—less shouting, fewer horns, just the steady rhythm of footsteps and wind.

Ember / FL

I'm getting late *waiting for the bus*

She liked the quiet. It didn’t ask anything of her. It didn’t mock her or demand she explain why she looked like a ghost haunting the world of the living.

Her fingers were numb by the time the bus arrived.

Ember / FL

*She sat in the back seat, like always*

Away from the stares. Away from the perfume-drenched girls and boys who spoke in money.

They never acknowledged her. She was invisible. Or worse—visible only when someone needed a TARGET.

Ember / FL

*walking fast and going in her class*

She got off two blocks from campus. Walked fast. Head down. Not because she was ashamed.

But because she didn’t want to waste energy giving them what they wanted—her REACTION.

At Silvergate, everything shimmered. Buildings with ivy crawling up stone walls.

Students with last names that had their own Wikipedia pages. Professors who played chess with CEOs and politicians.

It was a kingdom, and for them Ember… was the beggar girl who had slipped through the gate.

She walked into the main building just as the first bell rang. Her bag was heavy with books—too heavy for someone her size—but she had stopped noticing the weight.

Ember / FL

(You get used to carrying things alone when no one helps you put them down.) *get inside the classroom*

Her first class was Finance. The room was already full. She took her usual seat at the far left corner—front row, but tucked away, close to the wall. Close to escape.

*ignore the table and coffee*

The professor didn’t look at her. He never did.

But one pair of eyes did.

Vivienne Langford

*glares at Ember*

Vivienne Langford. Platinum blonde. Nails like claws. Daughter of a tech giant and future heiress to a billion-dollar empire. She sat at the center of the room like a queen on her throne. And like every queen, she needed someone to crush under her heel.

Vivienne Langford

Morning, Ember. *she said, her voice honeyed and sharp*

Vivienne Langford

Still wearing that same sad sweater? Or is it your uniform now?

The class chuckled. Some louder than others.

Ember / FL

*didn’t answer and focus on her books*

Ember didn’t answer. She never did. Silence was safer than sparring with wolves.

Vivienne Langford

Guess vintage is in this year. *muttered, loud enough to be heard*

Ember / FL

*sighs and looking down*

The professor entered, saving Ember from another round. But not from the heat crawling up her neck.

The lecture passed in a blur. Ember took notes, focused on the board, ignored the giggles, the paper balls tossed in her direction, the pen that rolled to her feet and was never retrieved.

After class, she slipped out before anyone else. One breath. Then another. Then down the hall, across the courtyard, into the library.

The library was her only sanctuary. Quiet. Dusty. Unbothered.