Bound to the Ocean

Ten years later, Adrian Vale had become everything his father wanted him to be. He was thirty. CEO of Pearl & Marine. Ruthless in negotiations. Impossible to intimidate. The newspapers called him the coldest man in the harbor city. Adrian never corrected them. He had married the empire instead of the woman he loved. The empire was demanding. One morning, his chief counsel placed a merger proposal on his desk. "The Leng company is collapsing," she said. "If we do not move, Kessler will acquire it." Adrian looked at the file. Leng. The name alone made his hand tighten. "We need an interpreter," the lawyer continued. "Someone familiar with the old maritime contracts." "Find one." "We did." The conference room doors opened. Mira walked in. For one second, Adrian forgot how to breathe. She was no longer seventeen. She was composed, elegant, and frighteningly calm. But her eyes were unchanged. Deep blue. Like water before a storm. "Mr. Vale," she said. He stared at her. "Miss Leng." Ten years. Ten years of anger. Ten years of wondering whether she had ever loved him. Ten years of carrying a handful of ash in the pocket of an expensive coat. And the first thing she said was: "The documents are in order." Adrian almost laughed. "Ten years," he said quietly, "and you bring me documents?" Her expression did not change. "Ten years," Mira replied, "and you brought me a merger." She placed the file on the table. "We're both business now, Adrian." For the first time in a decade, Adrian realized something terrifying. He was the one who had lost.