Six months earlier, his software firm had crossed a threshold few ever reached, transforming him overnight into a man whose name appeared in financial headlines and whose net worth invited curiosity and envy in equal measure. He owned properties he barely visited, traveled without queues or delays, and lived surrounded by conveniences designed to erase discomfort. Still, as he watched a young couple pass by pushing a stroller, something tightened in his chest, a quiet ache that had nothing to do with money. His marriage to Paige Sullivan had ended a year before, not with shouting or betrayal, but with exhaustion and silence, and no amount of success had managed to convince him that the loss did not matter.
“You look far away,” Helen said softly, adjusting her scarf. “Success should not weigh this heavily on a person.”