Rose paced her parents'' living room, each step calcted to disy distress. Tears streaked her makeup, deliberately mined before her arrival. The afternoon sum highlighted her red eyes and trembling hands


    "I don''t know what else to do," she sobbed. "Stefan barely talks to me. He sleeps at his family home every night."


    Margaret Lewis watched with exhaustion. The past weeks bad stripped years from her face, first Camille''s death, now Rose''s rtionship troubles,


    "Maybe he just needs time," Margaret suggested wealdy, The Rodriguezpany''s copse is a terrible shock."


    "Time?" Rose''s voice


    cracked perfectly. "He talks about canceling the wedding, Mom! Everything we''ve


    nned!"


    Richard Lewis sat with newspaper forgotten, expression guarded. Since the scandal photos emerged, he''d grown quieter around Rose.


    "Stefan''s lost everything," he said finally. "Hispany, his estate, his reputation. Perhaps a wedding isn''t his priority."


    Rose knelt before her father, grabbing his hands-


    a rehearsed move that looked spontaneous.


    "Daddy, please, I can''t lose him. Not after Camille." She pressed her face against his hands. "I can''t bear another loss."


    Richard stiffened at the mention of Camille, but his fingers curled around Rose''s hands.


    "What do you expect us to do? Kane Industries bought their debt. The Rodriguezpany is finished."


    Rose looked up hopefully. "You could invest enough to save the Seattle branch. That''s all Stefan needs, just enough to keep that plece alive." Margaret gasped. "Richard, you can''t possibly..."


    "It would take millions," Richard interrupted, though he didn''t immediately refuse. "Eor what? A struggling shipping


    route that''s barely profitable?"


    "For family, Daddy, Stefan would be family once we''re married. Rodriguez and Lewis, joined through us."


    She watched her father calcting behind his eyes.


    "Even if I wanted to help, Stefan doesn''t seem eager to marry you. Why would I invest without guarantee?"


    Rose''s heart beat faster. This was her opening "Make it a condition. Help save the Seattle branch if Stefan agrees to the wedding. This fall, as nned." Margaret stood. "Outrageous! You can''t buy yourself a husband, Rose!"


    "It''s not buying," Rose protested. "It''s saving what matters to both of us. Our future. Thepany his grandfather built."


    "And when he resents you for forcing his hand this way?"


    Rose turned, real anger shing. "Forcing? He loves me! He''s always loved me, even when he was with..." She stopped abruptly.


    Silence filled the room. Camille''s ghost hovered between them.


    "Even when he was with Camille," Margaret finished softly, "Is that what you meant?"


    Rose looked away. "That''s not what I meant."


    "Sometimes I wonder if you ever truly mourned your sister at all."


    For a moment, genuine emotion broke through, not grief, at fury at being questioned.


    "How dare you? I loved


    Camille more than anyonel Larranged her memorial service. I established the foundation in her name. I''m the one who "


    "Who started dating her husband when she was still married to him? And who announced the rtionship to the world after her death?," Margaret said quietly,


    Rose stepped back as if pped. This wasn''t how the conversation was supposed to go.


    "That''s not fair," she whispered, real tears recing manufactured ones. "We foundfort in shared grief."


    Richard moved between them. "Enough. This isn''t helping anyone."


    Rose copsed into her father''s arms. "I can''t lose him too, Daddy. Sometimes I think about joining Camille, about ending this pain..."


    Margaret gasped. "Rose! Don''t say such things!"


    It was her ultimate maniption, the suggestion of suicide, implied clearly enough to horrify them.


    "We''ll figure something out," Richard soothed, stroking her hair. "No one''s going to lose anyone else."


    Rose continued sobbing, but inside, triumph bloomed. Her father''s resistance was crumbling.


    "I just want to be happy,"


    she whispered. "To be Stefan''s wife. To give you grandchildren someday."


    Rose let her sobs subside, then looked up with swollen eyes "Will you talk to Stefan? Tell him Lewis Industries can help save what''s left of hispany? Richard exchanged a look with Margaret. "I''ll speak with him. But I''m not promising anything yet. I need to see the numbers."


    "And the condition?" Margaret asked. "That he marry you is exchange for financial rescue?"


    Rose straightened her shoulders. "Not that crudely. Just understanding that joining our families would be part of the arrangement. A business marriage." Richard nodded. "I''ll speak with him tomorrow."


    As Rose prepared to leave, her mother touched her arm. "Do you truly love Stefan? Beyond his name, his connections, his standing?"


    The question caught Rose off guard. Did she love Stefan? Had she ever loved anyone beyond what they could do for her?


    "Of course I do," she replied easily. "Why else would I fight so hard?"


    Margaret''s eyes lingered "Make sure you''re not confusing possession with love, dear. They''re not the same thing.


    Outside in her


    car, Rose''s facade crumbled. She mmed her hands against the steering wheel, frustrated. Her mother''s questions had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit.


    "It doesn''t matter," she muttered. "As long as Daddy talks to Stefan”


    Her phone buzzed with Stefan''s text: Noting home tonight. Staying at the office.


    Not "our home" or "the apartment," just "home." As if he was already nning his exit.


    Fear gripped Rose. She was losing him, desplie everything she''d done, manipting Camille''s marriage, orchestrating opportunities tofort him when her sister "disappeared," building a narrative of fated lo


    And Rose Lewis did not lose. Ever.


    She dialed Stefan repeatedly until he finally answered.


    "What is it, Rose? I''m busy."


    "Daddy''s going to help," she blurted. "Lewis Industries can invest in the Seattle branch. Save what''s left of the Rodriguez legacy."


    A long silence followed.


    "And what does your father want in return?"


    Rose gripped the phone tighter. "Just family loyalty. The wedding to proceed as nned"


    Another silence.


    "So that''s it. A business transaction.


    Your father saves mypany, I marry his daughter."


    "It''s not like that..."


    "Isn''t it?” His bitterugh cut through. "Tell me, Rose, was any of it ever real?"


    Genuine panic welled up in Rose, not grief, not love, but fear of losing her prize.


    "All of it," she insisted. "Every moment. I love you, Stefan. I always have, even when...."


    "Even when I was married to your sister," he finished tly


    "So meet with Daddy," she pressed. "Tomorrow. Hear what he''s offering."


    "And if I refuse? If I''d rather lose mypany than marry you this way?"


    The question hit like a p.


    "You don''t mean that," she whispered "You''re upset. Confused "


    "Not as shocked as discovering the woman I


    loved would try to buy me through her father''s money.”


    "I''m not buying you!" Rose''s control slipped. "I''m saving you! Saving us!"


    "Tell your father I''ll meet him," Stefan said finally. "But I not promising anything"


    He ended the call. Rose stared at the phone, rage and fear battling inside her. Stefan was supposed to


    be grateful, not disgusted.


    "He''lle around," she told herself. "Once he sees there no other way...''


    But doubt crept in. What if Stefan refused? What if all her careful nning had been for nothing?


    By the time Rose reached her apartment, a new determination had hardened. If Stefan wouldn''t willingly ept, she would force his hand directly


    She studied her tear-


    stained reflection and took photos of herself looking distraught. Then she drafted a message: I can''t do this anymore. Can''t keep fighting for someone who doesn''t want me. Maybe everyone would be better off


    Her finger hovered over the send button. The message was


    explicit enough to frighten him, vague enough for deniabilityter.


    But something stopped her. Some voice whispering that this was too far, even for her.


    Rose deleted the draft message. Not yet. That cand would remain in reserve


    Instead, she removed her makeup, wiping away the deliberate distress. As the tears disappeared, her true face emerged, calcted, controlled, determined."


    Her phone buzzed with a message from her father: *Arranged meeting with Rodriguez tomorrow, 10 AM. Numbers look workable if structured as joint venture.*


    Rose smiled at her reflection, triumph recing doubt. Her father was already preparing the financial rescue.


    Stefan would resist. His pride was wounded, his trust shake. But men like him were predictable, Family legacy mattered more than personal feelings. The Rodriguez name would ultimately outweigh his doubts about her methods.


    And if not... Rose nced at her phone, remembering the deleted message. There were always other ways to ensurepliance. Other buttons to push.


    "Game on, Stefan," she whispered. "Let''s see how much your pride is really worth."