SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 37

Stefan hurled his crystal tumbler against the wall of his home office. The sound of shattering glass matched the chaos in his mind. Forty percent. His company stock had dropped forty percent in a single day. Bil

His phone kept buzzing, board members, investors, his father. All demanding answers he didn't have. How had Kane Industries outmaneuvered them so completely? The takeover of Pacific Maritime shouldn't h Yet here he sat, watching his family's legacy crumble through real-

time stock updates on his phone screen. Each notification drove the knife deeper.

"Darling?" Rose's voice drifted through his office door. "Can we talk about the wedding plans? The planner needs final numbers for-"

"Not now." His voice came out harsh, rough from hours of emergency calls.

She entered anyway, dressed for the evening in a red designer dress that probably cost more than his employees made in a month. "The venue won't hold our date forever. We need to confirm..."

"The date? Stefan spun to face her, rage boiling over. "You want to discuss wedding dates while my company burns? While everything my family built over generations disappears?"

Rose stepped back, unused to seeing this side of him. "The business troubles are temporary. Your father will...”

"My father?" He laughed, a bitter sound that scared even himself. "My father hasn't returned my calls since the stock crash. The board is meeting tomorrow to discuss my removal as CEO. And you want to talk a "Stefan, please." She moved toward him, reaching for his arm. "We'll figure this out. Kane Industries can't..."

"Kane Industries." The name tasted like poison on his tongue. "That woman...

there's something about her. Something familiar that I can't place."

"Camille Kane? Don't be ridiculous. She's lived in Europe most of her life. We only met her recently at..."

"I know what she told

desk, making Rose jump. "But every time I see her, every time she speaks... it's like a

something calculating replacing her previous concern. "Perhaps you're attracted to ber?

suggestion hit him like ice water. "This isn't about attraction. This is about our entire future disappearing while you plan parties and pick out china

depends on maintaining appearances," Rose snapped back. "The right wedding, the right guests, the right

"Connections?" Stefan

what I am to you? A connection? A stepping stone

absurd. I love you. I've

Since you came back and found me married

then, heavy with unspoken accusations. Rose's face paled

Camille," she said quietly. "Not

her. "Such a nice, clean word for what happened.

again. Another stock alert. Another drop. The numbers blurred before

should postpone the wedding announcement,"

stabilizes." "Postpone?" Rose's voice rose

whirled back to face her.

my family's respect, my entire future! And all you care about is your precious social

but Stefan had seen her cry too many times to trust them now. "That's unfair.

low. "Like you

face. For a moment, real fear flickered in her eyes. "You promised never

of promises lately." Stefan moved to his bar, reaching for

watched him pour, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? That I wish

about something real! Something beyond your next

care about you," she

her eyes in the bar's mirror. "Or do you care