Chapter 42

Rose stared

at Stefan, the wedding invitation sample still clutched in her hand. The gold- embossed lettering seemed to mock her now.

"What do you mean, postponed?" Her voice came out too high, too tight.

Stefan loosened his tie, exhaustion etched into every line of his face. "Just what I said. We need to push the wedding back. Until things stabilize with the company.

"Push it back? Push it back?" The invitation crumpled in her grip. "We've sent save-

the-dates to three hundred people. The venue is booked. The deposit is paid!"

"I know." Stefan moved to the bar, pouring himself a drink without offering her one. "My father made it a condition of his help with the company. No distractions. Full focus on saving what's left."

Rose watched him toss back expensive scotch like it was water. The careful control she'd maintained all these years

began to slip."Your father doesn't control our lives."

"He controls the board. He controls the family shares. Right now, he's the only thing standing between me and complete professional ruin." Stefan poured another drink. It's just a few months. Once I save the c

"If you save the company," Rose corrected, her voice laced with venom. "Let's be honest, Stefan. Your business is sinking, and you have no idea who's behind it."

He flinched as if she'd slapped him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I'm being realistic." She advanced on him, the crushed invitation still in her hand. "We've planned this wedding for a year. A year!

in New York will be

expression. "My company is crashing. My family legacy is at risk. And you're worried about a

as a strangled laugh. "Is that what you think this is? Just a

invitation at his head. It bounced harmlessly off his shoulder, but the action broke something loose inside her. All the careful planning, the years of

its weight in her hands. "The people I've cultivated. The

against the wall inches from his head, water and flowers exploding across imported wallpaper. Stefan stared at her, shock replacing exhaustion. "Jesus, Rase! What's wrong with you?" "What's wrong with me?" She seized a framed photo of them, ripping it from the wall.

but she twisted

I did to have you," she hissed,

like suspicion dawning in his eyes. "What

them, dangerous, unanswerable. For a moment,

marble fireplace, alcohol spraying across family photos, across the

throat. "While you played husband to my pathetic sister! While you built your little

destruction. A crystal paperweight through the

growing horror, "Rose, you need to calm

she screamed, the name like poison on her tongue. "Poor, sweet Camille who everyone loved.

voice held an edge she'd never heard before. "She's dead. And you're destroying

froze, breathing hard, surrounded by the wreckage of their perfect apartment.

agreed, sudden caution threading

future. Not your father's company. Not your family

"I've invested too much in us to postpone now. Too much

you do, Rose? When

unexpected and searing. Had he suspected all along?

Rose forced

me, Stefan?" "Nothing." He looked away, the moment breaking, "Nothing Just.. this isn't the Rose I know." She laughed,

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