Eight years had passed since Nathan Cole walked away from a prestigious position inside the Veylor Group, leaving behind a salary that once made competitors adjust their expectations whenever he entered a negotiation room. He resigned willingly, believing love deserved priority over ambition. Celine Hart, the woman who convinced him sacrifice was noble, became the center of every choice he made. She insisted her dreams held greater urgency, and he accepted the role of stay-at-home parent without protest.Nathan embraced household work with quiet perseverance. Morning chores, school drop-offs, grocery runs, laundry loads, cooking, vacuuming, and evening trips to collect his family—every task became his routine. While other men climbed corporate ladders, he handled domestic responsibilities without complaint. People around him whispered condescending remarks about his life choices, calling him “too soft,” “unmotivated,” or “dependent on his wife.” Their judgment never altered his attitu

The luxury vehicle moved smoothly across the city while Nathan sat between Kade Veylor and Aurora Blackwell, hands resting on the worn handle of his small suitcase. Exhaustion still clung to him from the chaos he had left behind, yet a subtle determination flickered beneath the tired expression on his face. He inhaled quietly, trying to collect the tangled emotions lingering inside his chest.“I ended everything today,” Nathan said while looking out the window. “My marriage collapsed completely. I walked out with nothing—no money, no property, no steady job. I’m starting from zero, but I’d rather face uncertainty than remain trapped inside that house.”Aurora listened with gentle focus, her posture angled slightly toward him. Kade observed Nathan with calm patience, allowing him the space to speak without interruption.Nathan continued, voice low but steady. “I regret ignoring my father’s warnings. He asked me to think carefully before marrying Celine. He asked me to consider her valu

Sunlight had not yet touched the horizon when Nathan awoke. Dawn lingered beyond the windows, and the mansion remained silent except for soft humming from distant ventilation. Waking early felt natural to him. His body still carried traces of habits built across eight years—preparing breakfast for Celine, packing meals for Lyria, cleaning every corner before rushing to school drop-offs. Those routines no longer belonged to his current life, yet his internal clock refused to change.He sat on the edge of his new bed, rubbing faint traces of sleep from his eyes. Several bags filled with items Aurora insisted he purchase lay scattered near the wardrobe. He had not fully unpacked them last night, choosing instead to arrange only a few essentials before collapsing into sleep.Now, with a rested mind, he knelt beside the bags and carefully sorted through each package. Aurora’s thoughtfulness became more evident as he uncovered one item after another—shirts made from durable fabrics, sleek t

Nathan stepped away from the dining room, still holding the repaired phone Aurora returned earlier. The sound of her fork tapping the plate echoed faintly behind him, but he forced himself to ignore the gentle glances she kept throwing his way. Her attention distracted him far too easily these days, which felt strange for someone who had lived through eight long years of marital indifference.The device vibrated again.Amy Hart appeared once more on the small, revived screen.Nathan frowned. He opened the call log and nearly dropped the phone. Dozens of missed calls filled the list—every one of them from Amy. She had been dialing repeatedly, minute after minute, without stopping.Before he could overthink, he accepted the call.A trembling sigh washed through the speaker. “Nathan! Finally! I've been calling forever! I was scared something happened!”Her frantic relief was almost overwhelming.“Amy? What’s wrong?” Nathan asked gently. “Why did you call so many times?”“Because nothing

Nathan had barely settled into his new desk before Aurora appeared beside him, a stack of financial reports balanced in her arms. She set them down with a soft thud.“We need to start immediately,” she said. “Victoria Group expects something extraordinary. Edward will not tolerate mediocrity.”Nathan nodded. “Then we must create something beyond exceptional.”They began gathering every file relevant to Victoria Group’s export patterns, fluctuation exposure, revenue composition, foreign exchange dependency, and risk appetite. Aurora opened graphs while Nathan filtered raw datasets, both of them slowly constructing the skeleton of their pitch.Hours passed quickly.Aurora projected char