Gabrielle_SL

Sophia Moreau is a challenge no man has ever won.

A self-made CEO, ruthless and untouchable, she built her empire from the ground up, leaving no room for weakness. No distractions. No mistakes. And definitely no men who think they can outplay her.

But Travis Cole?

He doesn’t walk away from a challenge.

For years, Travis has kept a list—a private game between him and his closest friends. The women no one else could have, the ones deemed impossible. He’s never lost a bet. Never failed to break down the walls of even the most untouchable.

And when Sophia’s name is thrown into the mix?

He’s supposed to say no.

She’s supposed to be off-limits.

But one encounter with her, one sharp-tongued argument, one look in those firestorm eyes, and suddenly—he wants her. More than the game. More than the win. More than he should.

What he doesn’t realize?

She’s the one game he was never meant to play.

Because Travis might have fallen first…

But Sophia?

Sophia was never meant to fall at all.

Love Bet

You don't always notice it creeping in.

It starts small—just a slight fog in your mind, a dull ache in your limbs, a weight pressing on your chest that you can ignore if you just keep moving.

Kept moving. Kept working. Kept pretending that I wasn't fraying at the edges, that I wasn't running on caffeine and willpower alone.

Because stopping meant facing everything I had been avoiding.

Travis had stayed longer than I expected.

Longer than anyone ever had.

But when I woke up the next morning, he was gone.

Because the silence in my apartment felt louder than usual.

Like something had been here and left.

Like something was missing.

I ignored it, drowning myself in work the way I always did.

Leah had stopped calling. Stopped checking in every hour. Probably because she knew I wouldn't answer.

Or maybe—just maybe—because she was waiting to see if Travis would reach me in a way she never could.

The fourth day of this hellish week, I barely left my desk.

Reports, negotiations, revisions—if it existed, I was dealing with it.

It kept my brain from wandering. Kept my body from acknowledging how much it was screaming for rest.

But then the edges started blurring.

I blinked, shaking my head as I tried to refocus on the numbers in front of me.

I exhaled, pressing my palms into the desk, grounding myself.

The sudden shift, the way my vision darkened at the edges, the way my body swayed before I could catch myself.

The last thing I heard before the world went dark was the sound of my office door slamming open.

The second I walked into Moreau Dynamics, I knew something was wrong.

Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was the way Leah had called me—not with her usual snarky amusement, but with fear.

Or maybe it was because I knew Sophia.

Knew that she was still pushing herself past every damn limit.

And I knew that eventually, her body would give out.

I just hadn't expected it to be today.

Hadn't expected to walk into her office just in time to see her go down.

The moment I saw her sway, saw her knees buckle, saw the way she collapsed against her desk before crumpling to the floor—

I crossed the room in seconds, catching her just as her head tilted dangerously to the side.

"Sophia," I said sharply, shaking her slightly. "Come on. Open your eyes."

Panic surged through me—sharp, unfamiliar. I wasn't used to this.

Wasn't used to feeling fucking helpless.

Footsteps pounded behind me, and then Leah was there, her face pale, her voice sharp.

"I told you," she hissed, kneeling beside me. "I told you she does this."

I gritted my teeth, brushing damp strands of hair away from Sophia's forehead.

"Yeah, well, this is the last fucking time."

Leah swallowed hard. "She needs a doctor."

I scooped Sophia into my arms, her body limp against mine.

And for the first time, I realized—

I wasn't letting her do this to herself anymore.

Even if she fought me every step of the way.

She had spent years trying to prove she could handle everything alone.

Chapter 12: The Breaking Point