As I watched his double standard play out, the last bit of hope in me snapped.

He could be gentle with Nadine—patient, attentive.

With me, it was just blame and impatience.

He'd break rules he'd held for years for her.

But he wouldn't even give me a fair shot.

After that, I never reached out to Julian again.

But my accusation had already blown up the actuarial world.

Everyone was waiting to see how he'd respond.

To calm things down, the Actuarial Society set up an Open Challenge Match.

Julian would face anyone to prove himself.

The second the news dropped, I signed up.

I wasn't looking for proof.

I wanted closure. An answer for those five years I gave him.

The day of the match, the place was packed. Cameras flashing nonstop.

I sat across from Julian, staring at a face I knew too well.

No nerves. No flutter. Just calm.

The ref gave the signal—we both started running calculations.

His model was sharp as ever. Controlled.

But something felt off.

Every step was almost too perfect.

Like he could already see my next moves coming.

I frowned and forced myself to stay steady.

Five years of studying his logic—I leaned on all of it just to keep up.

Seconds ticked by. The screen got more intense.

Right when I felt myself slipping, Julian dropped a set of key data.

The numbers looked normal—nothing special.

But they flipped the entire risk model.

I stared at the screen, my mind spinning.

No matter how I tweaked the parameters, I couldn't turn it back.

In the end, the ref called it—Julian wins. The room exploded in applause.

He stood, gave a small nod to the crowd.

Then he looked at me, a faint smile pulling at his lips. "Clara, you still can't beat me. Maybe it's not about Nadine—maybe you're just not good enough."

Calm. Controlled. Like he was showing off.

The ref grabbed the mic.

"The result is in. Julian Vale wins. Any objections?"

All eyes snapped to me.

Julian looked too, a hint of mockery in his eyes—like he was waiting for me to fold.

I took a breath and stood.

Mic in hand, I met his gaze.

"I object. I think Julian used AI to cheat."