Aaron's POV

The boardroom in Tokyo stretches before me, floor-to-ceiling windows framing the city's glittering skyline. Executives drone on about quarterly projections, market expansions, risk assessments. Numbers blur together on the presentation screen.

I can't focus.

Something's wrong. The mate bond hums with distance, a cold thread pulling taut across continents. Istha's presence feels muted, like she's deliberately dampening our connection.

'Elin.'

I pull out my phone under the conference ...