Chapter 25

Garrison POV

Forty-three minutes into the board meeting, the drone of my CFO's voice finally faded into complete white noise. A glowing financial projection illuminated the faces of the twelve executives gathered around the polished oak table, all waiting for my final word on a billion-dollar media acquisition. Ordinarily, this was my arena. Numbers were absolute, contracts were binding, and people could always be outmaneuvered.

Today, however, the meticulously prepared charts blurred into a single, haunting image: her face.

My name is Kelsey Vance.

She wasn't the wife I had kept at arm's length for four years, convinced that maintaining distance was a safer bet than falling in love. She was a woman staring at me with familiar eyes and zero reason to trust me.

"Mr. Sterling?"

The tentative voice pierced the fog. I blinked, realizing every eye in the room was fixed on me.

My CFO cleared his throat, shift