Chapter 37

Stefan hurled his crystal tumbler against the wall of his home office. The sound of shattering glass matched the chaos in his mind. Forty percent. His company stock hnad dropped forty percent in a single day.Billionswiped out in hours.

His phone kept buzzing, board members, investors, his father. All demanding answers he didn't have.How had Kane Industries outmaneuvered them so completely?The takeover of Pacific Maritime shouldn't have been possible. Their defenses had been solid. Their contracts secured.

Yet here he sat, watching his family's legacy crumble through real-time stock updates on his phone screen.Each notification drove the knife deeper.

"Darling?" Rose's voice drifted through his office door.

"Can we talk about the wedding plans? The planner needs final numbers for-"

"Not now." His voice came ouut harsh, rough from hours of emergency calls.

She entered anyway, dressed for the evening in a red designer dress that probably cost more than his employees made in a month. "The venue won't hold our date forever. We need to confirmn..."

"The date?" Stefan spun to face her, rage boiling over "You want to discuss wedding dates while my company burns? While everything my family built over generations disappears?"

Rose stepped back, unused to seeing this side of him "Thebusiness troubles are temporary.Your father will..."

"My father?" He laughed, a bitter sound that scared even himself. "My father hasn't returned my calls since the stock crash. The board is meeting tomorrow to discuss my removal as CEO. And you want to talk about flower arrangements?"

"Stefan, please." She moved toward him, reaching for his arm. "We'll figure this out. Kane Industries can't..."

"Kane Industries." The name tasted like poison on his tongue. "That woman... there's something about her.Something familiar that I can't place."

"Camille Kane? Don't be ridiculous. She's lived in Europe most of her life. We only met her recently at..."

"I know what she told us!" His fist slammed the desk,making Rose jump. "But every time I see her, every time she speaks... it's like a memory I can't quite grab."

Rose's expression shifted, something calculating replacing her previous concern. "Perhaps you're attracted to her? It would explain your obsession."

The suggestion hit him like ice water. "This isn't about attraction. This is about our entire future disappearing while you plan parties and pick out china patterns!"

"Our future depends on maintaining appearances,"Rose snapped back. "The right wedding, the right guests, the right connections...."

"Connections?" Stefan advanced on her, forcing her to step back. "Is that what I am to you? A connection?A stepping stone for your social climbing?"

"Don't be absurd. I love you. I've always..."

"Always?" Another harsh laugh. "You mean since London? Since you came back and found me married to your sister?"

The words hung between them, heavy with unspoken accusations. Rose's face paled slightly.

"We agreed not to discuss Camille," she said quietly."Not after... everything."

"Everything." Stefan turned away, unable to look at her. "Such a nice, clean word for what happened. For what we did."

His phone buzzed again. Another stock alert. Another drop. The numbers blurred before his eyes.

"We should postpone the wedding announcement,"he said finally. "Until the company stabilizes."

"Postpone?" Roše's voice rose sharply. "We can't postpone! The society papers already..."

"Damn the society papers!" He whirled back to face her. "Don't you understand? I'm losing everything! My position, my family's respect, my entie future! And all you care about is your precious social standing?"

Tears filled her eyes, but Stefan had seen her cry too many times to trust them now. "That's unfair. I'm trying to help..."

"Help?" His voice dropped dangerously low. "Like you helped Camille? Is that the kind of help you're offering?"

The color drained from Rose's face. For a moment,real fear flickered in her eyes. "You promised never to bring that up."

"I'm breaking a lot of promises lately." Stefan moved to his bar, reaching for another glass. "Seems to run in our relationship."

Rose watched him pour,her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms. "What do you want me to say?

That I'm sorry? That I wish things had been different?"

"I want you to care!" The words exploded from him."Care about something real! Something beyond your next social event or magazine feature!"

"I care about you," she whispered.

"Do you?" He met her eyes in the bar's mirror. "Or do you care about what I represent? The name, the position,the lifestyle?"

She had no answer. Or perhaps, her silence was answer enough.

"Go home, Rose." Stefan drained his glass in one swallow. "I need to work. Need to find some way to save what's left of my company while I still can."

"Stefan,please...."

"Go." He didn't turn around. Couldn't bear to see whatever performance she'd prepared. "We'll discuss the wedding...later."

Her heels clicked across his office floor, each step precise despite her emotional display. At the door, she paused.

"I do love you," she said softly. "In my way."

Stefan kept his eyes on the city lights beyond his window. "Your way," he replied, equally soft. "That's always been the problem, hasn't it?"

The door closed behind her with a quiet click. In the sudden silence, his phone buzzed one final time.After -hours trading in Asia pushing his stock even lower.

He poured another drink, mind returning to Camille Kane. To that nagging sense of recognition. To the way she'd looked at him across the conference room,like she could see right through him.

Like she knew all his secrets.

Like she knew him.

The thought sent a chill down his spine that not even expensive scotch could warm.