-- Alexander --

The numbers on the screen blurred until they were nothing but black smudges. I'd been staring at the same spreadsheet for what felt like hours, trying to make sense of the chaos and mismatched numbers. But no matter how many times I scanned the columns, the figures refused to align or offer the clarity I desperately needed. Maybe they couldn't, not when my mind was split.

A sharp knock jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts and the next thing, Nicholas walked in. He leaned against the frame. "You're going to carve grooves into that desk if you keep staring at it like that."

I rubbed my...