Shadows of luna's ambition

rability · Old woun

ing, it had sharpened them. NovaMind was thriving. The smear campa

running, the reporters stopped calling, and the w

d ever

eone to co

's Con

uite. Dim lights, humming servers, a half-eaten protein bar.

in, holding tw

u're rewriting the emotional pars

p. "Says the guy who once c

itated bef

talk to you. About

"Jayden, you'r

ubbing the ba

w you because I believed in your work. I f

breath

thought you needed a co-founder, not a complication. But

le

whispered,

," he said quickly. "I

he

a long time, Lana's worl

t unce

backs

eep didn't com

ri

sm

betr

st someone-believe in somet

like him. He was

e in her hea

it happen

Jayden in... a

from t

by fate, an old

ot V

sage in her inbo

rtup Gala Invitation

a. You'll be there, right? I'd love to catch up. N

irst serious

before e

iq. Before

ayal became

her staring

rchitect who moved t

softly. "He also

r hand look like i

idn't

ust t

you at

e

nvestors, pitch decks and politics in tailored suits. Lana ar

ss the room - and for a

approach, Elliot Vos

carrying that sly smil

, offering a glass of wi

Legend? Last I check

eepishly. "I d

ed to the

lights, h

steps ahead - in code, in heart, in vision. I though

tayed

ry again?

ou think I'm the same

o. That's why

Ro

Lana sat in her

n or

or fu

y or

es you-not just your name, not just your brillia

osed he

eside her the night she t

g her

it

Deci

oftop of NovaMind, tinkeri

" she

up, surpri

ed to hi

lieved in me. No

d. "I me

she said,

issed

f lust - but a qui

her lips. "Took

traction-

become the o

n't broa

sn't for show. It

her space. Lana r

arose, they wo

a's relationship would affect l

EO if love made him weak.

le

app

os

Elliot sent a

bout catching up. It was about letti

rep

you.

ived the

uilt Li

e more than her CTO,

r that love didn't ha

t gave every