My husband is a total tech novice. Or so I thought. Me? I’m a legend on the AI hackathon circuit. In our three years of marriage, he has been the perfect partner. He remembers my cycle, rubs my sore ankles after a long day, and makes sure I have three healthy meals when I’m too buried in Python scripts to remember to eat. But every time I finish a brilliant piece of code and try to show him? He always looks at me with a pained smile: "Honey, it’s all Greek to me. Don't waste your breath explaining it." I’d always back off, feeling a bit of a lonely genius. Last week, I was tearing my hair out over a parameter bug for an upcoming AI hackathon. My husband, Caleb Sterling, quietly took off his gold-rimmed glasses and clipped them to his shirt collar. Caleb, the man who supposedly couldn't tell Java from JavaScript, suddenly reached out and took my laptop. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the lean, firm lines of his forearms. The cold glow of the screen reflected off his focused profile. The keyboard began to click—a crisp, rhythmic mechanical sound. In less than a minute, the parameter issue that had haunted me for a month was solved with a few elegant lines of code. "Did you... just learn that?" I asked, breathless, thinking he had secretly studied for my sake. He just smiled and didn't say a word. He looked devastatingly handsome when he was focused. I couldn't resist sneaking a photo of his profile and posting it to my social media. My account, which usually gets maybe twenty likes, exploded overnight. "It’s 2026 and I’m still seeing those hands on a keyboard? This is the peak Hot Nerd aesthetic. My sapiosexuality is screaming!" "‘Just learned it?’ LOL, OP, do you even know your own husband?" "The ghost of the legendary 'Sterling-Vance' duo has returned! I’ve watched the old videos of Goddess Vance teaching Caleb to code a thousand times. They were the ultimate Power Couple." "Wait... is OP actually Caleb’s wife? Then my 'Sterling-Vance' ship really is a relic of the past... ?" 01 The comments kept refreshing like a runaway script. "Caleb once stayed up five nights straight for Lydia Vance’s AI competition. He collapsed in the lab right after the finals. Their chemistry was insane!" "You think that’s tragic? Think about how Caleb never touched another AI project after Lydia left the country..." A stranger was being pieced together through 3,700 comments. This wasn't the Caleb I knew. My Caleb was steady, predictable, and careful. He was the man I had to propose to because he was too composed to do it himself. The man in the comments was a reckless, impulsive boy who once ran through a thunderstorm to Lydia’s house just to explain a rumor. On New Year’s Eve, the night before Lydia moved abroad, Caleb resigned from the AI lab. He spent the night alone in the server room and eventually ran a model that produced a hauntingly beautiful AI melody titled "The Moon is Beautiful Tonight"—a classic Japanese idiom for "I love you." Lydia was his muse. Every parameter he tuned was for her. I scrolled through the stories, the white light of the screen stinging my eyes until tears blurred the text. The melody Caleb had just run on my laptop... was that same melody. New Year’s Eve was approaching. Was he thinking of her again? "Why are you crying, babe?" Caleb chuckled softly, his thumb brushing my eyelid. I leaned away, forcing a smile. "Did you ever do AI competitions before? Your understanding of models is... deep." "Our team's algorithm engineer is out sick. Why don't you come sub for me, Caleb?" Everyone has a past. I knew that. But his kindness to me over these years was real. Plus, I had just found out I was pregnant. We were about to become the family of three we always wanted. If he said yes, it would mean he had moved on. I could pretend I never saw the comments. But Caleb froze. After a long silence, he muttered, "I’ve never formally competed." The lie felt like a slap. His winning records with Lydia were still indexed on Google. Caleb, a man who measured every word, was telling a blatant, clumsy lie. "Is that so?" I whispered. "Then what are all these comments about?" 02 The veil was torn. I demanded to know why. Caleb remained silent for a long time. "There is no 'why.' I loved her. Sometimes I still think of her. It’s that simple." He watched me fall apart with a calm that felt like ice. "沈溪 (Xandra), we’re married now. You don't need to obsess over my past." "Obsess?" I laughed bitterly. "What if she came back right now? What if she asked you to join her lab? Would you go?" He didn't answer. He tried to pull me into a hug, but I slapped his hand away. I wanted a real answer. Caleb sighed. "Go to sleep. Stop overthinking." He was so calm it made me feel like a hysterical child. The comments said Lydia had just returned to the States to start her own AI firm. They were all rooting for a reunion, completely ignoring the fact that I was his legal wife. "I wouldn't go. Happy?" Caleb said, his jaw tight. Right then, his phone buzzed. The caller ID was just one letter: "L." Caleb grabbed the phone to leave the room. I lunged forward and grabbed his shirt. My tears soaked the fabric. "Answer it here!" We stood in a stalemate. As the ringing began to fade, Caleb finally picked up, perhaps afraid of missing her. "Lydia," he rasped. The way he said her name was full of a tenderness I had never heard. "It’s me," a soft, melodic voice replied. I felt Caleb go rigid. He forgot I was even there. Lydia sounded weary. "I’m sorry to call so late. But I didn't know who else to turn to. My lead engineer is throwing a fit and won't finish the demo for the launch. The investors are coming in tomorrow, and I can't push the date." "I know it’s a lot to ask... but can you come save me? Please, Caleb. I need my best coder." 03 "But what about your finals for the International AI Hackathon?" Caleb’s question made us both freeze. He was thinking of her career before he even thought of his own life. I couldn't help but raise my voice. "You’re going to help her? Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve! We have a family dinner planned with both our parents!" I had planned to announce the pregnancy then. My mother-in-law had been hinting at grandkids for years. Caleb had always said he wanted a child. When we were intimate, he’d whisper in my ear, "Let's have a little girl just as sweet as you, okay?" Lydia’s voice wavered on the phone. "Caleb... is that your friend?" "We are married," I cut in. Silence followed. Caleb frowned, his resolve hardening. "It’s just technical support." Just technical support. When I asked, he had "never competed." When she called, he was ready to catch the first flight out. "Never mind," Lydia said softly. "Wait," Caleb said urgently. He covered the receiver and pried my hand off his shirt. His voice was cold. "Stop making a scene, Xandra." "She’s alone in a tough spot. Is it so wrong to help a friend?" I stared at him, my voice trembling. "I’m in a tough spot too, Caleb." This was my year to be promoted to Team Lead. But because of my pregnancy fatigue and morning sickness, the partners were worried about the project timeline. They were talking about moving me to a support role. The Open House demo next month was my only chance to prove I still had it, but my algorithm partner was a jerk who refused to work with me because he said my code gave him "anxiety." I wasn't a natural genius. I had worked until my wrists ached to get where I am. I poured my heart out, crying as I spoke. Caleb started packing his bag. When he saw me crying, he paused. I thought he would hold me, or at least comfort me. Instead, he said, "Drink some water when you're done crying. I'm leaving." I dug my nails into my palms. "Are you really going? You won't regret this?" Caleb looked at me, lowered his eyes, and said, "Get some sleep." The front door clicked shut. The house felt cavernous. I touched my stomach, my tears flowing unchecked. I picked up my phone and dialed a clinic. "Hi, I’d like to schedule an appointment for a termination." 04 The girl on the other end of the line was startled by my voice. "Are you okay, ma'am? Please breathe. Don't do anything impulsive." I broke down. A complete stranger on a helpline cared more about my emotional state than the man who shared my bed. I spent the night masochistically watching old interviews of the two of them. In the videos, Caleb would blush if Lydia looked at him during a demo. He’d look devastated if a model didn't run perfectly for her. He’d tell the world she was the most important person in his life. With me, he was always "stable." I thought it was just his personality. It wasn't. He had just given all his passion, all his fire, to someone else. At 8:00 AM, I drove to the hospital. The OB-GYN waiting room was full of couples. I saw a husband rubbing his wife’s back while she leaned on him, complaining of nausea. He kissed her forehead and said, "You're doing great, babe." I watched them with a hollow envy. My morning sickness had been brutal, and Caleb had never even noticed. He didn't even know I was pregnant. "Xandra? The doctor is ready for you." The doctor looked at my chart and sighed. "You have a difficult constitution for pregnancy. If you terminate this, it might be very hard to conceive again. Are you sure you don't want to talk to your husband?" My phone lit up. A text from my mom: "Hey sweetie, what do you and Caleb want for dinner tonight? We’re so excited for the 'surprise' you mentioned!" I stared at the screen, my hand shaking. I was about to say I needed to think, when Caleb called.
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