Chapter 11
James stood transfixed. This was Sophia Moretti, researcher, survivor – passionate, capable, fiercely independent. Not the quiet, accommodating wife he’d relegated to the background of his violent, complicated world.
This was the woman whose mind he’d never bothered to engage with, whose ambitions he’d dismissed, whose very essence he’d ignored. He’d never understood her.
The realization hit him with the force of the avalanche that had brought him here. He’d married a convenient arrangement, a beautiful shadow. He was only now, as she walked definitively away from him and his world, truly seeing the brilliant, resilient woman he’d let slip through his fingers. The ache of that understanding was profound, a deeper wound than any physical injury.
As Sophia disappeared into a large equipment tent, not sparing him a backward glance, the final piece of his old armor shattered. The defenses built on power, control, and emotional detachment crumbled into dust, swept away by the Alpine wind.
He finally understood the desolation he’d created. His heart, so long barricaded, lay exposed and irrevocably hers. He pulled a satellite phone from his pocket, the signal weak but functional. He dialed Michael.
“Michael. It’s James.” His voice was hoarse but decisive. “I’m staying in Switzerland. Indefinitely. Handle everything back home. Only contact me for absolute emergencies. Report daily, but don’t expect immediate responses.”
A pause, then the quiet intensity of an unbreakable vow. “I’m not coming back without her.” He ended the call before Michael could respond.
The commitment was made. He would stay. He would wait. He would learn to be the man she might one day, possibly, forgive. Not as her possessor, but as someone hoping for a chance to earn a place beside her.
