The offer hung in the air, thick and heavy with unspoken anxieties. Bart’s apology had been… well, it had been Bart. Stiff, a little clumsy, but undeniably sincere. He’d bared a sliver of his soul, enough to let Liam glimpse the regret gnawing beneath the polished CEO exterior. And yet, Liam remained perched on the edge of his threadbare sofa, a tangled mess of doubt and conflicting emotions.