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Alexa took a step back, but Victoria took two steps forward. “Please, what can I do?”
“There isn’t anything you can do. Anything anyone can do! It’s all over. Everything—it’s a-all—”
Alexa gasped and wrapped her arms around herself as she cried, her breathing rapidly edging toward hyperventilating.
Victoria couldn’t help it. Her body seemed to act of its own accord, intent on comforting Alexa. She stepped forward again and wrapped Alexa in a tight hug.
“No! Leave me alone!”
Alexa struggled weakly, but Victoria held onto her. She knew Alexa well enough to realize that leaving her alone would be a terrible idea right now.
“FUCK YOU!”
“I’m sorry,” Victoria murmured. “I’m so sorry, Alexa.”
The fight seemed to go out of Alexa all at once. Her knees buckled, bringing them both to the ground. She fell into Victoria, her arms going around Victoria’s neck. “Everything I’ve worked for…” she sobbed. “How can I even look my father in the eye? What will I do with my life? My work was everything to me.”
Victoria wasn’t going to offer her empty words—that her father would forgive her and that she could start again with her career. She was young and could still make a success of herself. Those things might very well be true, but Victoria knew they would do little to comfort Alexa right now.
She scrambled to think. She couldn’t leave things like this. She couldn’t walk away victorious, leaving the woman she loved broken behind her.
What could she do, though? If she gave up the patent, she would lose her company. Could she bring herself to do that? For Alexa?
Did she truly love her work more than the distraught woman in her arms?
“It’s yours.”
Alexa looked up through uncomprehending, tear-filled eyes. “What?”
“It’s yours. The patent.”
Alexa’s mouth popped open. “But… but…”
“I love you, Alexa. I can’t stand to see you suffer. It’s not worth it.”
Alexa jumped to her feet again. “But your company will go under! You told me yourself.”
Victoria stiffened her resolve as she stood to face her. “I know. But I built a company from the ground up once. Who knows, perhaps I can do it again. It’s never too late to start again, and I’d be in a much better financial position than I was the first time.”
Alexa stared at her like she had lost her mind. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do. I’ll call Luke right now and tell him to draw up the paperwork.”
Victoria reached into her pocket and brought out her phone. She was just about to dial Luke’s number when Alexa’s hand covered hers.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, don’t do it. I can’t let you give up your company for me, Victoria. I love you too much to let that happen. If you can start again, then so can I. Who knows, maybe I’ll even go into another line of work. I have options.”
She offered Victoria a smile, but she couldn’t hide the pain in her words. Victoria couldn’t believe this. She was willing to sacrifice her company for Alexa and Alexa wouldn’t let her.
She must love Victoria just as much as Victoria loved her.
“It can’t be like this,” Victoria whispered. “One of our stories ending in tragedy… It’s not right.”
“Maybe it shouldn’t be one of our stories, then.” Alexa squeezed Victoria’s hand. “Maybe it should beourstory. I want you back, Victoria. Screw the complications. We can deal with those later. I need you more than anything in the world, my career included.”
