SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 181

The penthouse was quiet when Camille arrived home. Only the kitchen light glowed, spilling onto the polished floor. She found Alexander at the island counter, papers spread before him, a glass of whiskey at his elbow. The amber liquid caught the light as he raised it, not looking up when she entered.

"Long day?" he asked, still scanning the document in front of him.

Camille set her bag down, her heart beating faster. The weight of Eleanor Pierce's visit pressed on her shoulders. "You could say that."

She moved to the refrigerator, buying time as she pulled out a bottle of water. Her mind raced, searching for the right words. How do you tell someone their estranged mother showed up after seven years of silence?

"Someone came to see me today," she said, her voice quieter than she intended.

Alexander made a noncommittal sound, still absorbed in his work.

"At the office." Camille twisted the cap off her water. "Your mother."

The stillness that followed was absolute. Alexander's hand froze mid-turn of a page. His shoulders stiffened under his dress shirt. When he finally looked up, his eyes had turned to ice.

"My mother," he repeated, his voice flat. "Eleanor Pierce came to your office."

"Yes. This afternoon."

Alexander set his glass down with careful precision. "And what did my mother want after seven years of silence?"

The coldness in his voice sent a chill through Camille. This was a side of Alexander she rarely saw, the hard edge beneath his usual warmth.

"She wants to see you. To talk." Camille moved closer, resting her hands on the counter. "She says she and your father need to apologize."

Alexander laughed, a sharp sound with no humor in it. "Apologize. That's rich." He stood abruptly, the stool scraping against the floor. "Did she tell you why they might need to apologize? Did she share that particular story?"

"Some of it," Camille said carefully. "About the accident. About James."

"About how they chose to believe my brother instead of me?" Alexander's voice rose slightly. "About how they visited him daily while I was learning to walk again? About how they helped him avoid charges while I went through three surgeries alone?"

He turned away, moving to the window. Outside, the city sparkled in the darkness, a thousand lights against the night sky.

"Alexander..."

"No." His voice cut through the room. "Whatever else she told you, whatever she asked, the answer is no. I'm not interested."

Camille took a slow breath. "She mentioned James's death. Your father's stroke."

Alexander's reflection in the window showed no reaction, but his knuckles whitened where he gripped the sill.

"She said they tried to reach you. That they came to your apartment after James's funeral."

"They did," Alexander said coldly. "With his confession letter in hand. Four years too late."

"You knew about the letter?" Camille asked, surprised.

"Of course I knew," Alexander said, turning to face her. "They sent it by courier after I refused to see them. I sent it back unopened."

Camille moved toward him, stopping when he took a step back. "She brought a photo. Of you as a child. Winning a sailing competition."

Something flickered across his face, pain, quickly masked by anger. "She kept my baby pictures. How touching."

"Alexander, please..."

His voice was dangerously calm now. "Please meet with the people who abandoned me when I needed them most? Please give them absolution so they can sleep better at night? I already refused when my father had his stroke last month. What

knew about your father's

engagement announcement. That he was asking for me." Alexander's expression hardened. "I told him my father made

his gaze steadily. "Please listen. Just listen

he gave a curt nod, moving

her words with care. "She said they failed you. Those were

stared into his glass,

to ask. She just wants a chance to apologize in person. To acknowledge the

question came quietly, some of the ice melting from his voice. "Why keep trying after all these years? After I've made it

when he didn't pull away. "Your father struggled to accept what they'd done, that they'd chosen to

with a sharp click. "My father, struggling with his precious pride.

now," Camille said. "Still trying to make

older. Because James is gone and they're facing their own mortality. They want

conceded. "Does that make their

the counter, pacing the length of the kitchen. His movements reminded Camille of a

don't understand what it was like," he said finally. "James was always their golden child. The star athlete, the popular one, the son who could do no wrong. When the accident happened..." His voice caught. "I kept telling them he'd been drinking. That he'd insisted on driving even

stayed silent,

"They looked

ame

son, in a hospital bed with pins in my leg.... and told me I

I'd had too much

the responsible one. James, who would never

at the refrigerator, pulling out the whiskey bottle and refilling his glass. "Did she tell you that

"She just said they made a

dripped with disdain. "Is that what we're calling it?" "What would you call it?"

Alexander stared into his glass as if it held

"The kind you

the distance until she stood just a step away. "I thought the same thing once. About

up sharply. "That's different. Your parents were manipulated by Rose. They didn't choose to believe her over you out of preference." "Didn't they?" Camille held his gaze. "They wanted to believe her version because it was easier. Because facing what she'd done, what they'd allowed, was too

forgive them. I'm not saying what they did

you pushing this? After I've already refused them

a door is closed forever," Camille said quietly. "To believe some wounds can never

of trust between them. Of the unexpected joy that had come with letting go

they haven't earned a second chance.... I'll support that." She squeezed his hand. "But don't make that

moment, he stared out at the city, his

still have nightmares," Camille said

events."

around, surprise breaking through his anger. "She

was the last thing she asked. If

back to the window, but not before Camille caught

her you have me now," she continued. "That you don't

filled only with the distant sounds of the city below. Finally, Alexander's

low. "In

about what happens afterward."

Camille. "That's

to heal. To face people who chose someone else over me when I needed them most. People I've

her hands in

face things