If Ste Cameron spoke French, it made sense-Keen O''Brien had hired a private


    tutor, and whenever he studied, Ste had simply joined in.


    But her fluency in German? That was a different story.


    After all, Keen had only ever studied English, French, and Spanish. German wasn''t even on the list.


    So how did she know it so well?


    And it wasn''t just a few phrases her grammar and pronunciation were wless.


    Even if he hated to admit it, Haynes O''Brien had to acknowledge: no one could speak anguage that perfectly without real-life experience, without actually conversing with native speakers.


    Haynes stared at Ste, but she didn''t nce his way. She just pressed y on the recording.


    It wasn''t until Rachel Pearce finally spoke that Haynes shifted his attention to her. His dark eyes, fathomless as an ancient well, flicked over Rachel.


    She stiffened, her expression uneasy.


    Wait-hadn''t Ste only recorded the conversation between Jasper Wilkinson and herself? How had she ended up on the tape, too?


    When the recording finished, silence descended-so heavy, it felt almost funereal.


    Everyone wore a different look, but most faces had turned a rather unpleasant shade.


    A moment ago, they''d all had the gall to use Ste of being petty, brazenly making her the viin.


    But now that everything was out in the open, they knew there was no ground for self-righteousness-no dignity left to stand on.


    Mr. Walden looked around at the group.


    "Anyone who just disparaged Ms. Cameron-apologize. Right now. Or you''re no longer wee at my gatherings."


    The message was clear: anyone who refused would be cklisted from Walden''s highly-regarded music salons.


    No one dared put up a front anymore.


    The two men who''d been hovering around Ste recognized the shift in power and immediately stepped forward.


    "Ms. Cameron, we''re so sorry. Earlier, we approached you because you''re so beautiful, and we just wanted your contact info."


    "And after that... well, we just went


    wropath the gossip, trusted the


    Wovelet


    wrong people. We sincerely apologize for being so rude


    Ste shot them a cold look and said nothing.


    She''d seen their leering eyes when they first approached-she''d crossed paths with their kind far too often. The more you indulged them,


    more brazen they became.


    With those two leading, everyone else who''d spoken ill of Ste lined up to apologize, one by one.


    Ste stood calmly, making no effort to appear magnanimous or stop the procession. She epted their apologies withposure.


    She wanted everyone-Haynes included-to know that she was not someone to be trifled with.


    Noah''s deep gaze lingered on Ste, a faint smile at his lips, admiration shining in his eyes.


    Haynes noticed the way Noah looked at Ste, and his frown deepened.


    Ste had mentioned his name in her recording. Did Noah not realize she was Haynes''s wife, the mother of his child?


    A strange surge of frustration welled up inside Haynes.


    After the apologies, the group scattered quickly, eager to escape the humiliation.


    No one dared linger-they''d lost all face.


    Finally, Ste turned to face Jasper, who hadn''t said a word.


    His face was tight with resentment, refusing to concede.


    He kept his expression icy, unwilling to apologize. After all, he was only there to apany Rachel. Missing out on some music salon didn''t matter to him.


    Haynes saw right through him. His tone dropped, cold andmanding. "Jasper."


    Jasper flinched, instinctively looking at Haynes.


    Haynes''s face was steely, his eyes dark and unyielding.


    Jasper''s breath caught. He opened his mouth to speak.