Michael's POV
I watched Allyson stand with her back turned to me, her shoulders rigid as she processed my offer. The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken possibilities.
I hoped she was considering it. Really considering it.
The deal I'd presented wasn't merely generous. It was rooted in something I despised acknowledging, even in the privacy of my own thoughts.
Love.
The arrangement came with selfish conditions, I wouldn't deny that. But every clause had been crafted with her wellbeing in mind. Seventy percent of the profits. Who offered such terms to someone who had deceived them? Someone who had shattered their heart into pieces?
I did.
Because my faith in her remained unshaken. In that revolutionary app she'd created. In the genius that ignited behind her eyes whenever she discussed her work. And perhaps, in some alternate reality where we might have had a genuine chance together.
This was a gamble. An expensive, foolish gamble. But then again, so was she.
