ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE

ALICE'S POV

I sat there on the park bench, looking at Konrad with a mix of emotions I’d rather not name. He was the only man who ever made me feel anything close to real love, and now, decades later, here we were. His eyes, usually so cold and calculating, held a flicker of something that looked almost like a plea. I could tell that this conversation was going to hurt him and I cherished the idea of getting back at him.

He cleared his throat, breaking the silence between us. “Alice, what happens after you get the company? Will you still send the money to save what’s left of my business?” His voice was laced with desperation, a tone I hadn’t heard from him in years.

I reached out, my hand brushing against his jaw, then trailing down to caress his cheek. His skin was rougher now, aged by the years and stress. “Konrad, we could have had a good life together,” I said softly, trying to hold on to the memory of the man I once loved.

But he jerked his face away from my touch, his expression