The CEO Used AI To Reply While He Loved Her Chapter 03
Vanessa loved hosting dinners.
Every month, she organized at least a few gatherings and invited every relative and family friend she could think of.
And every single time, Brielle was there.
As for me?
I usually got a polite invitation near the end of the month out of obligation.
By the time I arrived that evening, the dining table was already full.
Brielle sat beside Callan, delicately pulling meat from a crab leg while Callan peeled shrimp for her one after another with practiced ease.
Which was ironic.
Because the same man who claimed to be obsessive about germs usually refused to touch food with his hands.
The moment she saw me, Brielle smiled brightly.
“Evelyn, you made it.”
So this was the “waiting for me” Vanessa had mentioned.
A courtesy line. Nothing more.
I didn’t call it out.
I simply sat quietly at the far end of the table.
Most of the dishes were seafood.
Everything Brielle loved.
Everything I couldn’t eat.
I picked at plain vegetables in silence while everyone else chatted and laughed around me.
Halfway through dinner, Vanessa suddenly looked at me with a smile.
“So, Evelyn, how’s the wedding banquet coming along?”
Then she added casually, “What if we upgraded the menu a little? include a lobster entrée. Oh, and that baked crab gratin Brielle likes.”
Brielle laughed awkwardly.
“I was just joking about that.”
Vanessa waved her off immediately.
“If you like it, then add it. Weddings are supposed to make everyone happy.”
The food in my mouth instantly turned tasteless.
It was my wedding.
Callan had already dumped every responsibility onto me from the start, and now apparently even the menu had to revolve around Brielle too.
Then again, there wasn’t going to be a wedding anymore.
So what did any of it matter?
I simply nodded once.
“Sure.”
The meal dragged on endlessly.
By the time dinner finally ended, I felt emotionally numb.
Vanessa called me over to the living room for dessert, but turned to Brielle with a smile instead.
“Brie, sweetheart, come help me clean up a little.”
Brielle had barely started getting up when Callan frowned.
“Mom, Brielle’s on her period right now. She shouldn’t be standing in cold water. Let Evelyn do it.”
My fingers tightened around the water glass.
So he could remember things like that.
Just apparently never mine.
Last month, on the first day of my period, I’d been curled up on the couch in so much pain my face had gone white.
Callan looked at me for a few seconds before saying seriously, “That foundation shade is way too pale for you. You should stop using it.”
Vanessa waved Brielle back down immediately.
“Honey, if you’re not feeling well, leave it.”
Then she raised her voice toward the kitchen.
“Cal, your father can handle cleanup tonight.”
The two men got shoved into the kitchen.
The two men disappeared into the kitchen while Brielle leaned casually against the doorway watching them with a smile.
And somehow, sitting there alone on the couch, I felt more like a stranger in that house than ever before.
A while later, Brielle yawned softly.
Callan noticed immediately.
He stood up without hesitation and grabbed his car keys.
“It’s getting late. We should head out.”
Same as always.
Brielle first.
Always Brielle first.
The funny thing was, she didn’t even live far from us.
Callan personally picked out her apartment three years ago.
Quiet neighborhood. Safe building. Tree-lined streets.
Her favorite breakfast café downstairs.
Her regular dessert place right around the corner.
Most importantly? It was only two blocks away from our apartment.
“In case Brielle ever needs anything, I can get there fast.”
According to Callan, “anything” included burst pipes, power outages, fevers, nightmares, panic attacks after horror movies—
Basically every small inconvenience in her life.
When we pulled up outside her building, Brielle smiled sweetly and waved at us through the window.
“Drive safe, Cal. Night, Evelyn.”
Callan watched until she disappeared inside the lobby before finally pulling away from the curb.
The car that had been filled with laughter minutes earlier suddenly felt suffocatingly quiet.
A few blocks from home, I broke the silence first.
“Callan… do you ever think you and Brielle are a little too close?”
He seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.
Instead of getting defensive, he actually reached over and rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand.
Like he was calming down a difficult pet.
“You jealous?”
Then he chuckled softly.
“Evelyn, Brielle and I have known each other since we were kids. If something was ever gonna happen between us, it would’ve happened years ago.”
He glanced at me briefly.
“And at the end of the day, you’re still the one I’m marrying. Isn’t that enough?”
Of course it wasn’t enough.
But for once, I didn’t argue.
I slowly pulled my hand away and looked out the window instead.
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Callan frowned automatically.
“What’s so important that it has to be in person? You could just text me—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because he finally remembered.
I already knew the person replying to my messages for the last six months hadn’t actually been him.
After a few seconds of silence, he changed course.
“Fine.”
“I’ll clear my schedule tomorrow.”
