Chapter 24: The Choice
“That’s not fair—”
“Maybe not,” she agreed.
“But it’s true.”
“And Jordan, I can’t build my future on maybe. I can’t risk my heart on a man who might wake up in six months and realize he was just caught up in the chase. I need certainty. I need respect.”
“I need someone who values me consistently. Not just when they’re afraid of losing me.”
Jordan felt something break inside his chest.
“And Marcus offers that.”
“Marcus offers a job where I’m respected from day one,” Martina said carefully.
“Where my intelligence and experience are valued. Where I have a title that matches my abilities and a salary that reflects my worth.”
“As for the rest—”
She paused, and something vulnerable flickered across her face.
“I don’t know. Marcus has been kind and attentive and respectful. But I don’t love him the way I love you. I probably never will.”
“And maybe that’s better. Maybe loving someone less means hurting less when it doesn’t work out.”
“Or maybe it means settling,” Jordan said quietly.
“Maybe it means choosing safety over happiness. Choosing respect over passion. Choosing the smart decision over the right decision.”
“Maybe,” Martina said, standing up.
“But that’s my choice to make. And I’m making it.”
“I’m choosing myself, Jordan. Finally. I’m choosing the job that will challenge me. The salary that will let me breathe. The opportunity to prove I’m more than someone’s assistant.”
“I’m choosing to stop being invisible.”
She walked toward the door.
Jordan felt panic claw at his throat.
This was it. The moment she walked away. The moment he lost everything that mattered.
“Martina, wait.”
She turned back.
He saw tears in her eyes.
“Don’t make this harder than it already is. Please. Let me go with grace. Let me remember Paris and the man you were there without ruining it with what comes next.”
“What if I offered you the same thing?” Jordan asked desperately.
“VP of strategic operations. Your own team. Double your current salary. Full benefits. Equity. Everything Marcus is offering and more.”
“Stop.”
Martina’s voice was firm, but now the tears were falling freely.
“Please stop. Can’t you see? This isn’t about money or titles or competing with Marcus.”
“This is about five years of you not valuing me until someone else did. This is about me needing to know my worth independent of your validation.”
“This is about me choosing a future where I’m not waiting for you to finally see me as equal.”
“You are equal—”
“Then why did it take you five years to notice?” she asked softly.
“Why did it take Marcus Ashford and a crimson dress and the threat of losing me to make you see what was right in front of you?”
“Why wasn’t I enough just being me?”
Jordan had no answer.
Because she was right.
She’d always been right.
He’d been blind. Arrogant. Stupid.
And now he was paying the price.
