West Coast East Heart Chapter 01
One month before we were supposed to move back to California, my husband Adrian suddenly changed our job applications.
His best friend Marcus tried to talk him out of it over the phone.
“Just because Clara Thorne is in Geneva, you secretly accepted the position at CERN? Adrian, have you lost your mind? Your wife Evelyn already got the Chief Technology Officer offer from Nexagen, that quantum tech company in Silicon Valley. Didn’t you two agree to go back to the West Coast and build something together?”
“Back when you were both doing your PhDs at MIT, wasn’t the whole point to revolutionize the aerospace industry someday?”
Adrian shook his head slightly.
“Evelyn loves me. Once she knows I’ve made my decision, she’ll naturally come with me to Switzerland.”
“Clara is all alone over there. She’s too lonely. She needs me. Opportunities at Nexagen will come around again, but I’m all Clara has.”
I stood outside the door of our Cambridge apartment. A cold emptiness spread through my chest. I turned around silently and walked away.
Since he chose to chase his so-called love, I would choose to continue on my own path.
A month later, as my plane touched down at Los Angeles International Airport, his frantic call came through.
“Eve, have you arrived in Geneva?”
I looked out at the tall palm trees lining the road under the California sun. A storm of emotions surged inside me.
“I got here a while ago.”
…
I stopped in front of the glass doors at the Nexagen campus. That conversation from a month ago still echoed in my mind.
Marcus’s voice came through again.
“Adrian, have you really made up your mind? Then you should at least tell Evelyn face to face. What if she really doesn’t know you withdrew the application…”
Adrian shook his head.
“She’s been talking about that Nexagen position for years. She cares about it more than anyone. There’s no way she doesn’t know I pulled our joint application.”
He sighed. “If I tell her in person, with her temper, she’ll blow up and we’ll have a huge fight. Why bother?”
Marcus sounded confused.
“You know she’ll be furious, and you still decided to act first and explain later?”
Adrian let out another sigh.
“I didn’t have a choice. Clara is there all by herself, struggling with severe anxiety. I can’t just leave her alone.”
A confident smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Evelyn gave up a chance at SpaceX for me back then. If I ask her to give up one more thing, she’ll listen.”
His words were light, effortless.
As if my sacrifice was only to be expected.
Marcus’s voice carried a trace of doubt.
“You’re not still hung up on Clara, are you?”
Adrian paused. He didn’t answer right away.
After a moment, he spoke slowly.
“I have zero resistance to her.”
“And what about Evelyn? What does she mean to you?”
I wanted to ask that too.
Adrian let out a deep sigh.
“She’s the most suitable wife.”
Suitable.
Not the love of his life.
He didn’t say it outright, but anyone listening understood.
Marcus’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Adrian, you can’t have it both ways. Don’t end up losing both.”
Adrian smiled with confidence.
“Marcus, my friend, you don’t get it.”
“A man has to be a little greedy. Otherwise, what’s the point of living?”
He lit a Marlboro, looking perfectly content.
“Evelyn has always been level-headed. She only cares about R&D. She’s not the type to play jealous games.”
“Clara is the kind of woman who needs to be protected. She depends on me. She needs me. With her, I finally feel like a real man.”
A smug smile crossed his face.
“Men have different needs, after all.”
“Then what about your dream? The one about changing the entire industry? Don’t you feel any regret?”
Adrian’s brows drew together.
“If I can’t even protect one woman, what’s the point of talking about changing the world?”
“In life, there are always regrets. Clara is the only regret I don’t want to have.”
Marcus shook his head and said nothing more.
After hearing that, I turned around silently and walked back home.
I remembered when Adrian and I first met. It was at a TED academic forum in Boston.
He stood on stage giving a presentation. The last slide of his PowerPoint read:
“I hope one day, we can truly bring our research to life. Turn it into something that changes the world.”
Back then, there was a light in his eyes.