Mated to My Intended's Enemy-Chapter 195 CUAP

Freya’s POV

Johnny’s expression lit up the instant he spotted Professor Nolan.

"Professor Nolan!" he greeted, warmth threading through his voice. "I was just about to look for you. Hard to believe a man of your stature can disappear in plain sight."

The professor’s brows rose, amusement glinting in his eyes. "Really, Johnny? Flattery already?"

Johnny laughed easily. "More true than moon pearls."

Professor Nolan chuckled. "That saying’s ancient. I haven’t heard it since my first symposium."

"I keep it alive for special occasions," Johnny said smoothly, then turned slightly toward me. "Speaking of special—there’s someone you need to meet."

The professor’s gaze followed his gesture, settling on me—sharp, intelligent, but not unfriendly.

"Freya Stone," Johnny introduced. "We went to university together. She was technically my junior, but in practice, she was the one tutoring me half the time."

I laughed softly, deciding to meet the tone instead of hiding behind formality.

"Only because you were too busy charming the professors to finish your projects," I teased, extending a hand. "It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Professor Nolan. I’ve admired your neural-mapping papers for years. Your early work on dual-conscious feedback was one of my references in CUAP’s design."

Professor Nolan blinked, his interest clearly piqued. "You worked on CUAP?"

"She built CUAP," Johnny said, smirking. "From scratch."

I gave him a mock glare. "From a lot of sleepless nights and bad coffee, yes."

That earned a genuine laugh from the professor. "That protocol holds half of our internal communication framework. You’re that Miss Jane Doe?"

I nodded modestly. "Guilty as charged."

"You just solved one of our biggest mysteries," Nolan said. "I’ve been citing your paper without realizing the author was sitting right here."

Johnny lifted his glass, his grin lazy but proud. "See? Told you she was the real deal."

That opened the floodgates.

Professor Nolan launched into questions—detailed ones, but friendly. "How did you manage the logic compression on that scale? And I’ve been dying to know how your mesh system handles hybrid packs without losing data accuracy."

"It’s a combination of adaptive frequency mapping and predictive caching," I replied easily. "Though the real trick was convincing the test subjects not to rip out the neural sensors."

He laughed, delighted. "I know that feeling! My last Alpha subject threatened to bite me."

"Mine actually did," I said lightly. "That’s when I started adding hazard clauses in all my consent forms."

Selene stirred within me, a ripple of pride running through my veins. This—this was what I’d missed. No Luna duties. No reputation games. Just knowledge, alive and exhilarating.

Johnny lingered nearby, silent but steady, his presence like an anchor in a storm of academic energy. When I caught his eye, he smiled—a wordless you’ve got this.

Then his posture changed. A subtle straightening.

I followed his gaze.

Aurora.

She moved through the crowd like she owned the floor—gown a cascade of ice-blue silk, every glance calculated.

"Mr Johnny," she greeted smoothly, tone honeyed and cool.

Her gaze flicked to me, and the warmth vanished.

One look. That was all it took to deliver the message: You don’t belong here.

Aurora raised her glass—not to me, but to Johnny.

A quiet social gesture, elegant and lethal. The kind that could erase someone’s presence without a single word.

Johnny’s voice cut the tension before I could. "This is Miss Howlthorne," he said, turning fully toward me. "Freya, my old university friend—and soon-to-be partner at my company."

"So," Aurora said at last, her voice still smooth but her eyes hard, "I suppose that means I won’t be needed at the SF AI Solutions meeting tomorrow?"

Johnny’s answer was effortless. "Bingo."

Aurora’s smile cooled another few degrees. "You seem awfully invested, Johnny. Didn’t think tech conferences were your idea of entertainment."

Johnny tilted his head, unbothered. "Oh, they’re not. But watching intelligent people dismantle outdated systems? That’s always a good show."

Her eyes flicked to me. "How convenient that your ’intelligent people’ happen to include your old university friend."

I met her stare head-on, my voice calm but sharp. "Maybe it’s just hard to ignore competence when you see it. I hear that can be... unsettling."

Aurora’s fingers tightened around her glass. "Confidence suits you, Miss Howlthorne. I hope it lasts once the board starts asking harder questions."

"Oh, I’m counting on it," I said with a small smile. "I tend to do my best work under pressure. It’s a trait some of us had to earn."

Johnny’s chuckle broke the standoff. "Well, now that introductions are complete, perhaps we can all agree the future of AI is in good hands—and good manners."

Aurora’s answering smile didn’t reach her eyes. "Good manners are easy. The real challenge is knowing when to use them."

"Spoken like someone who rarely does," I replied lightly.

For a moment, silence. Then Aurora’s gaze turned to Johnny again, too polished to reveal the sting. "Then I’ll adjust my schedule," she said coolly, and walked away.

Her perfume lingered, sharp as winter air.

I let out a slow breath. “Thanks,” I murmured.

Johnny’s lips curved slightly. “You didn’t need me. But it’s nice to have backup when someone tries to turn a gala into a battlefield.”

Before I could respond, movement caught my eye—three wolves near the tall windows.

Levi. Adrian. Silvano.

Levi and Adrian exchanged a confused glance. They hadn’t expected me here, much less sparring with Aurora under Nolan’s watch.

But Silvano—

His eyes locked on mine, steady and unreadable.

No anger. No amusement. Just the calm of someone who’d seen the storm coming long before it hit.

Selene went quiet inside me.

For a moment, everything else—the laughter, the chatter, the music—faded to static.

I felt his gaze like a pulse under my skin. The same energy that used to anchor me now pressed like weight.

Then he looked away.

And all the air I’d held inside me rushed out in one shaky exhale.

"What’s wrong?" Johnny followed my gaze.

Selene let out a low growl.* We don’t need his approval anymore,* she said. *We never did.*

I turned back to Professor Nolan. "Now, about the multi-phase adaptation you mentioned—did you try isolating each data stream with a hard buffer sync before merging the alpha inputs?"

He blinked, then gave a short laugh. "I haven’t. But now I will."