POV: Kai

The cabin door closed behind Nova, and the silence that followed was deafening.

I sat there like an idiot, staring at the space where she'd been, replaying my hesitation over and over in my mind. That split second where I'd paused. Where doubt had crept in and stolen my certainty.

That split second had just cost me everything.

"You fool," I muttered, standing abruptly. "You absolute fool."

I'd spent ten years building an empire so I could come back for her. Ten years planning, strategizing, making myself powerful enough that no one could take her from me again. And then, when it mattered most, when she'd needed me...