“Blackwood.”
The word felt larger than the mountain house. Larger than the town. I leaned back against the edge of the tub, water rising along my chest. “Constantly.”
“And?”
“I don’t want to be here forever. Leaving can’t come soon enough.”
Her expression shifted. Something vulnerable flickered there. “I know that.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
The wind picked up briefly, rustling the trees beyond the deck. From the other tub, Jax shouted something obscene, followed by Avery’s laughter and a splash.
Steam drifted between us, softening the edges of the night. Mila ran her fingers along the surface of the water, not looking at me when she asked it. “Would you regret it?”
“Regret what?”
“Walking away.” Her gaze lifted slowly. Steady. Searching. “From all of it. The company. The name. Your family’s empire.”
There it was. Not doubt in me but fear of what legacy does to people.
I leaned back against the stone edge of the tub, water splashing over my shoulders. “You think I’d wake up at forty wishing I’d taken a corner office instead?”
“I think a family legacy is louder than we pretend.” Her voice stayed quiet. “And it’s yours.”
King Enterprises. Generations of control. My father’s voice threaded into every boardroom wall.
I held her eyes. “I’m not his shadow,” I answered. “Nor will I fall in line with a desk he picked for me or a life he approved. There’s no way I’m spending thirty years proving I can run a company I never wanted.”
She studied my face.
“I want out,” I continued. “I’m scared of it. I’m done being shaped by it.”
The wind rustled through the trees.
“And if he cuts you off?” she pressed.
“He already has. Just not financially.”
That earned the smallest shift in her expression. She understood that kind of control.
“I’d rather build something that’s mine,” I added. “Even if it’s smaller. Even if it’s harder.”
Her knee brushed mine under the water. “And if you fail?”
“I won’t.”
She exhaled slowly. “You sound so sure.”
“I am.” I leaned forward then, closing the space between us. “I’d regret staying. Not leaving.”
Her breath hitched faintly.
The future had always been strategy for me. Contracts. Offers. Alignments. With her, it felt different. Unmapped.
Silence hung between us, heavy but not uncomfortable.