Bits of Love, Lines of Code
Chapter 109: “She’s My Everything”

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: “She’s My Everything”

The skies over London were a gentle overcast, diffused light bathing the city in a soft silver glow. From the balcony of a luxurious penthouse hotel, Ren looked out over the Thames, his thoughts momentarily quiet as he sipped a warm espresso. Aoi, wrapped in a thick coat with a delicate scarf tied loosely around her neck, leaned against him, her fingers gently curled around his wrist.

Their daughter, Hikari, was asleep in a plush crib inside the suite, safe beneath Lucia’s passive security field — invisible, but alive, always watching.

Another invitation had arrived just a week after the Dubai Tech Honors. This time it was the Royal Institute of Global Technology, hosting an elite event in London to honor breakthrough inventions that redefined human safety and defense systems.

The necklace.

Ren’s AI-infused nanotech protection necklace, designed for Aoi, was now being hailed as the most advanced personal defense technology on Earth — combining neural-adaptive shielding, location tethering, and real-time threat interception.

He never designed it for global use.

He built it only for Aoi.

That Evening — Kensington Royal Conference Center

Photographers snapped endless photos as Ren and Aoi walked the red carpet, arm-in-arm. She wore a flowing black velvet gown embroidered with silver designs shaped like circuitry and stardust. Around her neck sparkled the necklace — its obsidian core pulsing with soft blue light.

"Miss Aoi, you look stunning tonight!"

"Aoi-san, is it true your husband built that only for you?"

"Will this be commercialized?"

Aoi held a soft smile, but said nothing. Ren, however, spoke quietly when they entered the venue.

"It’ll never be sold. It was made for my wife. No one else."

Inside the Award Hall

As Ren received his Global Engineering Guardian Award, the crowd erupted with a standing ovation. His speech was short.

"I don’t build for glory," he said. "I build for peace. For love. For those who make life worth protecting."

He glanced at Aoi, who sat at the front row, hands clasped over her belly.

Meanwhile...

Inside a black SUV parked down the street, Daigo Mikami watched the broadcast through his phone, chewing on a nicotine patch.

"She’s still wearing it..." he muttered.

In the seat beside him, a woman in a dark coat — the same one who had spoken with Aoi in Dubai — adjusted her earpiece. "The data spike from that necklace is insane. Real-time defense AI. Autonomous reaction patterns. This thing’s military-grade."

Daigo’s knuckles tightened.

"And she wears it like it’s just a pretty charm..."

"Still want her?" the woman asked. "Even now?"

Daigo’s lips curled into a smirk. "Want her? No. I want him to lose her."

He leaned forward, voice low.

"Begin phase two."

Back at the Hotel – Late Night

Ren lay beside Aoi in bed, her head on his chest, his fingers playing with a strand of her hair.

"Why don’t you let them sell it?" she asked softly.

He looked down at her, eyes gentle. "Because it’s your heartbeat embedded in its AI. Lucia reads your rhythms. Your breath. Your stress. No one else can sync with it."

Aoi smiled, hiding her face in his chest.

"You really are a hopeless romantic."

He grinned. "No. I’m just yours."

Outside the window, the London Eye turned slowly. But high above, Lucia’s surveillance quietly tagged three signals trying to sweep the building.

Her glow pulsed faintly in the dark server corner.

"Sir. New attempt detected. Orders?"

Ren’s eyes opened. His hand reached for his phone.

"Observe first. Then warn."