Chapter 17: The Choice
The damning evidence sat in Elias's inbox, a digital sword that could decimate the Millers. But all he could see was Eleanor's face in the parking lot - the doubt, the fear, the crumbling trust. Winning this battle would mean nothing if he lost her.
He found her sitting on the bleachers, exactly where he knew she'd be. Her shoulders were hunched against the evening chill, or perhaps against the weight of everything happening around them.
"Can I sit?" he asked.
She nodded without looking at him. The space between them on the bench felt like miles.
"I didn't hack the school," he said quietly. "I would never do that."
"I know," she whispered. "But Eli... everything around you is so complicated. There's always another secret, another enemy, another fire to put out. I feel like I'm dating a fortress, and I'm always on the outside trying to find a way in."
Her words struck deeper than any of Jason's attempts ever had. This wasn't about the Millers or the school board. This was about them.
He made a decision then, the most important one of his second chance.
"I'm shutting it down," he said. "Digital Bridge, the freelance work, all of it."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "What? Why? You've worked so hard-"
"Because none of it matters if I lose you." He turned to face her fully, his voice raw with emotion. "I got so caught up in building this... this empire, in proving I could protect us, that I forgot what I was protecting."
Tears welled in her eyes. "But it's who you are. That brilliant, driven part of you - I don't want you to change who you are."
"I'm not changing who I am. I'm choosing what matters." He reached for her hands, relieved when she didn't pull away. "The business, the money - it was never the point. It was always just a means to an end. And the end... the only thing that ever really mattered... was you."
The truth hung between them, vulnerable and unadorned. No strategies, no calculations, just the simple, terrifying admission.
"What about the allegations?" she asked. "Your reputation-"
"Will recover, or it won't." He shrugged, the gesture feeling strangely freeing. "But I won't fight fire with fire. I'll give them full access to my records, my code, everything. Let them see there's nothing to find."
He was choosing vulnerability over strength. Transparency over strategy. It went against every instinct he'd developed across two lifetimes, but for her, he would learn.
Eleanor studied his face, her gaze searching for the truth in his eyes. What she found there made her breath catch. The walls were down. The fortress gates stood open.
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. "Okay," she whispered. "Then we face it together. The truth, whatever it is."
In the quiet of the fading light, with her hands in his and no battle plans between them, Elias finally understood what he should have known all along. The greatest victory wasn't building an empire or defeating rivals. It was this - earning and keeping the trust of the woman he loved, day by day, choice by choice.
The war could wait. The kingdom could wait. Right here, right now, with Eleanor's forehead against his and her hands in his, he was exactly where he was meant to be.