Observed

A Few Days Earlier

Daniel sat alone in his office, the lights dim, and the heavy silence broken only by the ticking of the wall clock. Papers were scattered across his desk, untouched. He had tried to focus on work, to push through the frustration building inside him—but it was no use.

Nothing was going right.

Every recent business deal had somehow slipped through his fingers. Whenever he tried to outmaneuver Elias in a negotiation or make a bold business move, it ended in disappointment. Clients he once had full control over were now praising Elias’s newer, sharper strategies. It burned Daniel deeply to think he was being outshined by someone he once considered beneath him.

He leaned back in his chair, exhaling heavily.

And it wasn’t just business. At home, things weren’t any better. Lena was barely around these days. She was either out shopping with her friends, attending social gatherings, or going on spa retreats. She had stopped even pretending to be interested in what was happen