Five seconds. The weight of three lives balanced against one decision. Time crystallizes in the murky water as I gaze at Alex’s unconscious form. Even in this desperate moment, my heart betrays me with a familiar flutter. The stubborn determination remains etched on his features—the same expression he wore in the boardroom last month when he refused to sell Rodriguez Enterprises despite the hostile takeover attempts. Watching him then, commanding a room full of executives, I’d forced myself to remember the vast gulf between us: he, the ruthless tech billionaire whose name dominated headlines, and I, a research department head who’d worked my way up from nothing.
Four seconds.
My lungs scream for air as memories flash through my mind. That rainy Tuesday when he first walked into my of
