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 thepany.


    "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 thepany. 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 andplete professional ruin." Stefan poured another drink. It''s just a few months. Once I save the c


    "If you save thepany," Rose corrected, her voiceced 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 pped him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."


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


    Everyone who matters in New York will be there. This is our moment, Stefan. Our time!"


    "Our time?" He turned to face her, something hardening in his expression. "Mypany is crashing. My family legacy is at risk. And you''re worried about a party?"


    "A party?" The words came out as a strangledugh. "Is that what you think this is? Just a party?" "Rose"


    She hurled the crumpled invitation at his head. It bounced harmlessly off his shoulder, but the action broke something loose inside her. All the careful nning, the years of maniption, the patient waiting, all th "Do you have any idea


    what I''ve done for this wedding? For is?" She grabbed a crystal vase from the side table, feeling its weight in her hands. "The people I''ve cultivated. The connections I''ve built. All to ensure our ce in society!"


    The vase shattered against the wall inches from his head, water and flowers exploding across imported wallpaper. Stefan stared at her, shock recing 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. "What''s wrong with you? First you let someone destroy yourpany piece by piece, and now you''re letting your father dict The frame joined the vase, ss flying across the room.


    "Stop it!" Stefan grabbed for her arms, but she twisted away, snatching a bottle from the bar.


    "After everything I did to have you," she hissed, "after everything, I sacrificed...."


    "What you sacrificed?" Stefan stepped back, something like suspicion dawning in his eyes. "What exactly did you. sacrifice, Rose?"


    The question hung between them, dangerous, unanswerable. For a moment, she froze, bottle raised mid-


    swing. Then the rage took over again. The bottle smashed against the marble firece, alcohol spraying across family photos, across the custom rug they''d chosen together, across his perfect white shirt.


    "I waited for you!" The words tore from her throat. "While you yed husband to my pathetic sister! While you built your little life with her! I waited!"


    Each usation apanied another act of destruction. A crystal paperweight through the television screen. A chair overturned, Books swept from shelves.


    Stefan backed away, watching her rampage with growing horror, "Rose, you need to calm down. This isn''t about Camille..."


    "Everything is about Camille!" she screamed, the name like poison on her tongue. "Poor, sweet Camille who everyone loved. Camille who got everything handed to her while I had to fight for every scrap!"


    "She''s gone, Rose." Stefan''s voice held an edge she''d never heard before. "She''s dead. And you''re destroying our home over a postponed wedding."


    Rose froze, breathing hard, surrounded by the wreckage of their perfect apartment. Something in his tone cut through her rage. Something knowing. Questioning.


    "She''s dead," Rose agreed, sudden caution threading through her anger.


    "And I''m your future. Not your father''spany. Not your family legacy. Me."


    She advanced on him again, broken ss crunching under her designer heels. "I''ve invested too much in us to postpone now. Too much time. Too much nning. Too many sacrifices." Stefan stood his ground, studying her with


    new eyes. "What exactly did you do, Rose? When Camille disappeared?"


    The question struck like lightning, unexpected and searing. Had he suspected all along? Had he seen through her careful maniptions?


    Rose forced


    her breathing to steady, her mind racing through the implications. "What are you asking me, Stefan?" "Nothing." He looked away, the moment breaking, "Nothing Just.. this isn''t the Rose I know." Sheughed, the sound brittle and sharp. "Maybe you never knew me at all."


    Silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of something expensive dripping onto the ruined carpet. Rose surveyed the destruction she''d caused, feeling no regret. Let him see this side of her. Let him "The wedding is postponed," Stefan said finally, his voice fat. "My father gave me one month to save thepany. After that, we can


    discuss dates again."


    "One month." Rose smoothed her skirt, stepping over broken ss toward him. "And if you fail? If thepany crashespletely?" "Then we start over." He met her eyes. "Together. If that''s still what you want."


    The question hung between them, unexpected and revealing.


    "Of course e it''s what I want." She reached for his face, cupping his cheek with one hand. "We''re meant to be together, Stefan. We always were."


    He caught her wrist, holding it just tight enough to be ufortable. "Then you''ll wait. One month."


    Something in his grip, in his eyes, warned her not to push forther. The Stefan she''d manipted so easily seemed suddenly absent, reced by someone harder, Someone watchful.


    "Fine." She twisted her wrist free. "One month. But when is is over, nothing stops our wedding. Not your father. Not yourpany. Nothing."


    "Agreed." He moved past her toward the door. "I''ll stay at the family estate tonight. Give you time to calm down.


    Rose watched him leave, not trusting herself to speak again When the door closed behind him, she surveyed the destroyed apartment, broken ss glittering like diamonds across every surface.


    Her phone buzzed, another message from the wedding ter asking about flower arrangements. With a scream of pure frustration, she hurled it against the wall, watching it shatter like everything else in her pe


    One month. She could wait one month. She''d waited years to have Stefan, yed a long, patient game. What was one more month?


    But as she stood amid the wreckage of their home, a new fear crept through her rage. The way Stefan had looked at her. The questions about Camille. The sudden hardening In his manner.


    For the first time since Camille''s "ident," Rose wondered if her carefully constructed world might be built on shifting sand.