NICHOLAS’S POV
I used to believe my office was my sanctuary from the madness. The tall glass windows, the polished floors, the never-ending emails.
It was my stronghold, forged from plans, control, and strict schedules.
Sitting at my desk now, I felt completely empty.
The chair creaked under me as I relaxed back and focused on the image before me.
Ivy, Julie, and Rita's photos flashed one after the other, including birthday snapshots, messy ice cream faces, and blurry ones of them chasing butterflies at the park.
I couldn’t look away, as if it held the pieces of me I thought were gone forever.
They were safe.
They were home.
Yet I was not the same, I felt lost.
I should’ve felt victorious, returning to the empire I’d built.
I should’ve been making decisions, reviewing acquis
