Ethan groaned as his alarm buzzed.

    He slapped his hand over his phone, silencing it, and let out a deep sigh.

    His phone screen glowed faintly, displaying a timestamp that read 6:15 AM. It had been a long night.

    He stretched, his body protesting after hours of staying up late texting Lila.

    Their conversation had been surprisingly lively — full of jokes, bits of her college life, and stories he never thought he''d hear from someone so reserved.

    She''d been shy when they first met, but the more they talked, the more her personality shone through.

    Ethan swung his legs over the side of the bed, running a hand through his messy hair.

    ''Why does she make it so easy to stay up late?'' he wondered, chuckling to himself as he stood.

    He grabbed his toothbrush, stuck it in his mouth, and shuffled down to the kitchen in his boxers and an old T-shirt.

    As he moved, he thumbed through a few messages on his phone. His employees had already sent their morning updates: all the trucks were prepped and out at their designated spots.

    With how smoothly things were running now, he no longer needed to micromanage every detail.

    Plopping down on the couch, Ethan grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. The morning news was just starting, the headline music buzzing through the room.

    He leaned back, absentmindedly brushing his teeth as he glanced at the screen.

    Then he froze.

    The headline at the bottom of the screen read:

    "Local Tech Giant Exonerates Former Employee of Wrongdoing — Video Proven Fake."

    He thought about how far he''d come since those dark days when the charges were first made public. The nights spent staring at his apartment ceiling, wondering if he''d ever find his way back.

    The stares, the whispers, the rejection from people who had once called themselves friends.

    And yet, he''d risen above it all.

    He thought of Lila''s laugh from last night and the way she''d shared pieces of her life with him, bit by bit.

    He thought of the food truck business that had gone from a desperate experiment to a thriving enterprise, employing people and bringing good food to the city.

    And he thought of the second Apartment building that he had bought.

    ''This is just the beginning,'' he told himself as his pace quickened.

    By the time Ethan returned home, sweat dripped from his forehead, and his muscles burned pleasantly. He felt lighter, like the run had stripped away some of the weight he''d been carrying since seeing the news.

    Back inside, he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sank into the couch. His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen.

    It was a text from Marty, his go-to guy for the renovation.

    [Marty]

    [Hey boss, just wanted to let you know the new windows are going in today. Should be done by noon.]

    Ethan smiled faintly, typing back a quick reply.

    [Ethan]

    [Thanks, Marty. Appreciate it.]

    Setting the phone down, he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment. The path ahead was clear now. He just needed to follow it wherever it would take him, and he was sure it would take him to the path of a Billionaire.