Chapter 56

Rain lashed against the penthouse windows, matching the storm brewing inside. Rose stared at Stefan across the living room, his posture rigid as he clutched his phone in a white knuckled grip. The text messa “That’s the third cancellation today,” Rose said, fighting to keep her voice steady. “Bergdorf claims ‘brand association concerns. As if they’ve suddenly developed a moral conscience.”

Stefan didn’t look up. “Did you sleep with him too?”

“What?”

“The Bergdorf buyer.” His voice held a coldness she’d never heard before. “Did you sleep with him like you did with Jonathan Hayes? Like you did with Lord Hartley? Like you apparently did with half of London Rose flinched as if he’d slapped her. “That’s not fair.”

“Fair?” Stefan finally looked up, eyes red-

rimmed from lack of sleep. “The photos are everywhere, Rose. The financial records linking you to Bessonov. The evidence keeps piling up, and every time I think I’ve seen the worst, something new emerges.” She moved to the bar, pouring herself a drink with hands that trembled slightly. Three weeks since the first scandal photos had emerged. Three weeks of constant new revelations, each one more damaging tha “Those photos are from years ago,” she said, the defense sounding weak even to her own ears. “Before us. Before…