Chapter 61

Rose paced her parents' living room, each step calculated to display distress. Tears streaked her makeup, deliberately ruined before her arrival. The afternoon sun highlighted her red eyes and trembling hands as she clutched a disintegrating tissue.

"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 had stripped years from her face, first Camile's death, now Rose's relationship troubles.

"Maybe he just needs time," Margaret suggested weakly. "The Rodriguez company's collapse is a terrible shock."

"Time?" Rose's voice cracked perfectly. "He talks about canceling the wedding, Mom! Everything we've planned!"

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. "His company, 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 Rodriguez company 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 piece alive."

Margaret gasped. "Richard,you can't possibly..."

"It would take millions," Richard interrupted, though he didn't immediately refuse. "For 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 calculating 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 planned."

Margaret stood. "Outrageous! You can't buy yourself a husband,Rose!"

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

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

Rose turned, real anger flashing. "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, but fury at being questioned.

"How dare you? I loved Camille more than anyone!I arranged 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 relationship to the world after her death?," Margaret saidquietly.

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

"That's not fair," she whispered, real tears replacing manufactured ones. "We found comfort in shared grief."

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

Rose collapsed 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 manipulation, 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 his company?"

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 in 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 slammed 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: *Not coming home tonight. Staying at the office.*

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

Fear gripped Rose. She was losing him, despite everything she'd done, manipulating Camille's marriage, orchestrating opportunities to comfort him when her sister "disappeared," building a narrative of fated love.

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 planned."

Another silence.

"So that's it. A business transaction. Your father saves my company, I marry his daughter."

"It's not like that..."

"Isn't it?" His bitter laugh 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 flatly.

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

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

The question hit like a slap.

"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'm 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'll come around," she told herself."Once he sees there's no other way..."

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

By the time Rose reached her apartment, a new determination had hardened. If Stefan wouldn't willingly accept, 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 if I just disappeared like Camille.*

Her finger hovered over the send button. The message was explicit enough to frighten him, vague enough for deniability later.

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

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

Instead, she removed her makeup, wiping away the deliberate distress. As the tears disappeared,her true face emerged, calculated, 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 replacing doubt. Her father was already preparing the financial rescue.

Stefan would resist. His pride was wounded, his truust shaken. 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 glanced at her phone,remembering the deleted message. There were always other ways to ensure compliance. Other buttons to push.

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