Chapter 6

"That bastard, treating you like some guinea pig for his AI experiments!" she exclaimed, waving her arms in fury. "If it weren't for the fact that you need to rest right now, I would've made sure he'd never work in tech again!"

I chuckled softly at her puffed-up anger, feeling a warmth spread through my heart.

This bestie, who'd grown up with me since childhood, always seemed to care more about my grievances than I did.

"Alright, calm down," I said, handing her a cup of bubble tea. "Looking back, maybe this was the universe's way of giving me a wake-up call."

Melody took the milk tea, her eyes slightly red. "You silly girl, remember when we were in school? When I was being bullied, you were the first one to rush in and help me, even though you were so tiny. Now it's your turn to need help. How could I possibly stand by and do nothing?"

We sat on a bench by the river, watching the sunset turn the water golden.