If Ariana was in a sprint, Kian was in a high-stakes triathlon. His life was a precarious balancing act, each demand threatening to topple the others.
His own final-year thesis project;a visionary design for a community arts center required countless hours of detailed modeling and theoretical writing. This was the capstone of his academic career, and it could not be rushed. đ±
Simultaneously, the deadline for Seya's boutique loomed. The three-month countdown was a constant pressure in the back of his mind. The project was nearly complete, but the final stages demanded precision and client coordination, all while carrying the heavy secret of her family's connection to his past.
To ensure a stable financial transition after graduation, he had also taken on two smaller, quick-turnaround projects;a residential renovation and a cafe interior. These provided crucial cash flow but fractured his time into even smaller, more frantic pieces. đł
His days bled into nights in the architecture lab, a landscape of scattered blueprints, empty coffee cups, and the relentless glow of his computer screen. He existed on a narrow ledge between success and burnout, driven by the need to build a secure foundation not just for himself, but for Jessica, the twins, and the future he envisioned with Ariana. Every finished drawing, every submitted page, was a brick in that foundation.đ