As Keeley walked away, Aaron felt the bitter sting of their ending. Knowing the truth, she would likely never speak to him willingly again.

He hadn't even considered how she discovered his secret. She'd launched her accusations without explaining her discovery. This was worse because he hadn't had a chance to explain himself properly. She didn't believe he loved her.

He should have foreseen this from the moment he realized she'd been reborn. Keeley's emotional scars from their past life remained unhealed. He couldn't blame her; she'd suffered so much because of him, both directly and indirectly.

What was he to do now? He couldn't prove his love if she wouldn't let him near her. Giving her space seemed his best option. No texting, no visits to her lab.

It would be difficult.

His next opportunity to see her without intruding would be Cameron's engagement party in two weeks. She'd undoubtedly be there to support her best friend.

Until then, he'd focus on work. He still needed to contact several international clients before executing his plan. Business trips might offer some distraction.

But was he kidding himself? He'd buried himself in work after Keeley's previous death, and she still haunted his thoughts daily. Work wouldn't help.

"Have you noticed anything different about the boss lately?" Aiden whispered to Cameron over lunch.

"You mean the robot who works eighteen-hour days? Yeah. It's because of Keeley."

"What happened?"

"Well," Cameron said, adopting a gossipy tone, "he showed up at Jennica's apartment looking for her last weekend, and she turned him away. Jen talked to Keeley, and she stormed out, threatening to kill him. She returned hours later, refusing to discuss it, and called in sick to school and work for two days."

"You think she confronted Aaron?"

Cameron nodded. "I think she dumped him."

"Were they ever really together enough to constitute a 'dumping'?" Aiden asked, shaking his head. "Poor Aaron. He adores that girl."

"I know. I'm not sure what he'll do—they're both coming to my engagement party."

Aiden smirked. "Since I'm coming too, I'll witness this firsthand."

"It gets better. Jen invited Ryan. Aaron's going to flip," Cameron confided.

Aiden laughed. This soap opera was improving. Had they fought over Ryan? He desperately wanted to know what Keeley had said to transform their normally lovestruck boss into a workaholic.

"Anything specific you want for an engagement present?"

"Check the registry; that's Jen's domain."

"I'll do that."

A thought struck him. What about Keeley and Valentina's rent now that Jennica had moved in with Cameron a few days after their engagement?

"Who's covering Jennica's share of the rent?"

"Me," Cameron said, mouth full. He swallowed. "At least until the lease ends in July. They'll sign a new lease with a new roommate then. She felt bad about leaving them, but I wanted her with me sooner, so I offered."

Aiden sighed dramatically. "You're rubbing it in that your girlfriend lives with you. Not all of us are so lucky."

"She's my fiancée, not my girlfriend," he corrected. "Why not help Nova get a visa? You could practically do it in your sleep."

"She has three years of school left. After that, I don't know if she'd want to leave her family."

Long-distance relationships rarely worked; nobody wanted to uproot their lives. Cameron felt sorry for his friend; he seemed to genuinely like Nova. At the very least, she kept up with his gaming addiction.

Speaking of long distance…would Aaron still send him out of town monthly once he was married? Jennica wouldn't always be able to travel with him, especially once they had children.

Did he even need the money anymore? He was incredibly wealthy—including stocks and bonds, he was worth nearly a billion dollars.

Cameron wanted to talk to his boss, but given his current state of mind, approval seemed unlikely. He was an overzealous work machine. Mentioning his own stable relationship while Aaron was recently rejected would likely trigger another ice age.

Lunch ended, and everyone returned to their desks, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Wanna bug the boss?" Aiden asked eagerly.

"Really? Is that wise right now?"

"Worth a shot. I want to see his reaction."

Cameron shrugged and followed. "It's your funeral."

The overconfident hacker burst into Aaron's office. "Good afternoon, my dude! How's your Thursday going?"

"Get back to work," Aaron said mechanically.

The friends exchanged a look. Robot mode remained engaged. Their curiosity about Keeley's words intensified, but they couldn't ask either woman.

"I am working," Aiden replied cheerfully. "I'm fulfilling my duties as your friend, ensuring you're still alive. Have you eaten anything today? A banana? Yogurt?"

At "banana," the robotic mask cracked momentarily. "She's allergic to bananas; I can't have them either."

He immediately reverted. Talking about Keeley could restore his humanity, then.

"Why can't you eat them if Keeley's allergic?"

He looked at them as if they were amoebas. "Because she won't kiss me until I've brushed my teeth."

What?! When had their boss kissed Keeley?! They wanted to ask for clarification, but he retreated completely into his robotic shell.

Aaron was smitten. He seemed to believe they were a couple, even though they weren't. Unless…was Aiden's theory that Aaron was Keeley's ex-boyfriend correct?