The Algorithm of Us

One boy from the back row. One girl with a mission. One chance to prove that brilliance doesn't need privilege-just the courage to be seen. Samuel Lucas and Layla Williams have nothing in common. He's a scholarship student surviving on brilliance and his mother's unwavering faith; she's the daughter of a billionaire on a secret mission to expose corruption. He codes alone in library corners at 3 AM; she dismantles corrupt systems with surgical precision. And somehow, from the moment she sits at his table in that library and says "you're interesting," they become the exact thing neither of them planned for: essential to each other. For most of their story, they exist in different worlds; he's building AI that recognizes hidden emotions, she's gathering evidence that will burn institutions to the ground. But when a cruel system tries to destroy him, she's the one who saves everything he's built. When she finally admits she's been protecting him all along, he's the one who teaches her that some missions are worth making personal. Until they both have to leave. London for him. New York for her. Different cities, different continents, one year of careful distance while they become who they need to be. They haven't spoken honestly since that airport goodbye. They've been dancing around what everyone else already knows-that what started as investigation became connection, and connection became something neither of them knows how to name without risking everything. But Samuel is tired of being worthy from a distance. And Layla is done pretending she doesn't think about him every single day. So when he finally texts I think I'm ready now. Are you still waiting?-she says the only thing that matters: You're late, genius. I've been waiting. Now they have one week in Paris to figure out if two people with world-changing missions can build something together. If love can survive transatlantic flights and time zones and the complicated logistics of caring about someone whose work matters as much as yours does. One designed to recognize emotion. One designed to expose corruption. Together, they'll create something the world didn't predict: a system that values empathy over efficiency, justice over convenience, and connection over the comfortable distance that keeps people safe but alone. What could possibly go wrong?

About the Author :
Nicole Ashton writes love stories that feel like movies - full of emotion, slow tension, and the kind of moments that stay with you long after the last page. Her stories often begin with heartbreak and end with healing, exploring how people find love again after losing it, and how one unexpected moment can change everything. She believes love stories don't have to be perfect to be powerful - they just have to feel real. Whether it's two people pretending not to care, someone coming back from the past, or a lie that turns into something true, Nicole writes about the quiet, messy, beautiful parts of falling in love. Her books include They Said It Was Fake, Borrowed for Revenge, and The Ten Dollar Boyfriend - each one a cinematic journey of emotions, second chances, and the complicated ways people find their way back to each other. When she's not writing, Nicole loves getting lost in films, long walks that turn into daydreams, and quiet coffee shops where she builds the worlds her characters live in. She writes for anyone who still believes love can surprise them - even when they've stopped looking for it.