SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Stefan Rodriguez waited at the corner table of the dimly lit bar, nursing a drink he

didn't want. The place reeked of stale beer and cheap perfume, nothing like

the upscale establishments

he'd frequented during better days. But that was the point. No one would recognize him here. No reporters lurking in corners, no business

associates to witness his fall from grace.

No one except the woman who had helped destroy his life.

The door swung open, letting in a blast of chill evening air. Rose Lewis stood framed in the doorway, scanning the room with narrowed eyes. When she spotted Stefan, her face hardened into the mask he'd gro with, beautiful and cold as carved

ice.

She wore black from head to

toe, her outfit probably costing more than most people's monthly rent despite her recent

financial troubles. Always keeping up appearances. Always the perfect facade.

Rose threaded her way between

tables, ignoring the appreciative glances from men seated at the bar. She slid into

the booth across from Stefan without a greeting.

"This better be important," she said, voice clipped. "I have plans tonight."

"With Herod Preston?" Stefan watched her face, catching the flicker of shock before she masked it.

"My personal life is no longer your concern." Rose signaled

to a passing server. "Vodka martini, extra dry."

Stefan leaned forward.

"I know what you're planning, Rose. You and Preston. With the

Phoenix Grid."

Rose's eyes narrowed to slits. "Been talking to your new friends at Kane Industries? Or perhaps directly to my dear sister?" The last words dripped

with venom.

"Eduardo Martinez told me." Stefan watched her

reaction carefully. Eduardo had been a longtime friend of the Rodriguez family, someone with connections throughout the city's business community. "He saw you with Preston at the marina last week. Heard you talking about the Grid launch."

Rose's laugh held no

humor. "Eduardo always did have an overactive imagination. And loose lips." She took

the martini from the server with a cold smile. "You called me here based on secondhand gossip? How pathetic.

"It's not just Éduardo.” Ştefan kept his voice low, steady. "The whole city

is talking about the sabotage attempts at the Grid. And now you're seen with Herod Preston, a man with every reason to hate Victoria Kane."

"Guilt by association now?" Rose sipped her drink. "I wasn't aware who I spend my

time with was any of your concern. Not anymore."

"Whatever you and Preston are planning for the Grid launch, you

need to stop it." Stefan's hands tightened around his glass. "Now. Before people get hurt."

Rose studied him over the rim of her glass. "You know nothing," she said finally.

"I know enough." Stefan met her gaze. "Even after everything that's happened, after everything

was exposed at the gala, you're still plotting against Camille."

"After

everything that happened at the gala?" Rose's voice sharpened. "You mean after my sister publicly humiliated me? After she destroyed my career, my reputation, everything I built?"

"After she revealed the truth," Stefan corrected. "That you tried to have her killed."

Rose didn't deny it. Not anymore. Not after her public exposure at the

Phoenix Gala.

"When does it

end, Rose?" Stefan pressed. "Isn't it enough? The damage is already done.... to Camille, to you, to all of us."

"When she's destroyed." Rose's eyes glittered with a cold

light. "When Victoria Kane is destroyed. When they've lost

everything, just like I did."

"You lost everything because of your

own actions," Stefan said quietly. "Not Camille's."

Rose's face flushed with anger. "She took

everything from me! Everything that should have been mine."

"She never took anything from you, Rose. You stole from her." Stefan felt a strange calm as he finally

spoke the truth. "Her husband. Her family's

trust. And when that wasn't enough, you tried to take her life."

"Don't you dare judge me." Rose's voice cut like a

wanted to meet. To

blade. “You were happy enough to be stolen when

it suited you. Remember? 'I've always loved you, Rose. Camille was a mistake. Your words, Stefan. Your betrayal."

Shame burned in Stefan's gut, but he pushed through it. "Yes. I betrayed her. I'll carry that guilt forever." He met Rose's gaze steadily. "But I won't let you hurt her again."

Something shifted in Rose's expression, a flicker of uncertainty, quickly replaced by cold fury. "So that's why tell me you've switched sides. Abandoned me for Camille."

"This isn't about sides, Rose. It's about stopping

something terrible before it happens."

Rose laughed, the sound sharp enough to cut. "Oh, Stefan. It's far

too late for that. The wheels are already in motion. The

Grid launches in three days. And after

that..." Her lips curved in a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "After that, nothing will ever be the

same."

Alarm shot through Stefan's body. "What are you planning?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Rose sipped her martini, eyes never leaving his

face. "I thought you were weak

when you cried over losing your company. When you flinched

every time Camille's name was mentioned. But

this..." She gestured at him with undisguised contempt. "This is beyond pathetic."

"People could get hurt, Rose." Stefan fought to keep his voice steady. "Real people. Not just Camille

and Victoria. Is that what you want? To be responsible for innocent lives?"

"Spare me the moral lecture." Rose set down

her glass with a sharp click. "Victoria Kane destroyed Herod's entire family without a second thought. Where was your concern for 'innocent lives' then?"

"This isn't about Victoria's past actions. This isnoveldrama

about you. Right now." Stefan reached across the table, but Rose pulled her hand away before

he could touch it. "It's not too late to stop this."

Rose studied him, her expression growing colder by the second. "You really care

about her

still, don't you? After everything. After she humiliated you in front of all of New York. After

she took your family's company."

"I care about doing the right thing. For

once in my life." Stefan didn't deny his feelings for Camille. They were

complicated, tangled with regret and shame, but still there." And deep down, I

think you still care too, Rose. About what's right. About who you are."

For a brief

moment, something flickered in Rose's eyes, pain, perhaps, or doubt. But it vanished so quickly Stefan wondered if he'd imagined it.

"You know nothing about who I am." Rose's voice

dropped to a dangerous whisper. You never did. You saw what you

wanted to see. The perfect girlfriend. The devoted lover. Just

like my parents saw the perfect daughter. Just like everyone always has."

"I see you now," Stefan said quietly. "The real

you. And I think deep down, you're terrified of what you've become."

Rose's hand moved so fast he didn't see it coming. The slap

cracked across his face, sending his head snapping

sideways. The bar fell momentarily silent, dozens of eyes turning toward them.

"You'll pay for this, Rose hissed, her perfect composure shattered. "You'll pay for the embarrassment. For the betrayal." She

leaned down, her face inches from his. "I gave you

everything, Stefan. And this is how you repay me? By crawling back to her?"

Stefan touched his stinging cheek, feeling a strange detachment from the pain. "I'm not crawling back to anyone. I'm trying to do one right thing after a lifetime of wrong ones."

"How noble." Rose's voice dripped venom. "Well, enjoy your

newfound conscience while you can. Because in

a few days, you'll be just as ruined as Camille and Victoria Kane."

She straightened, smoothing her dress

with trembling hands. "Goodbye, Stefan. The next time we meet, you'll be begging

me for forgiveness."

"Rose, please." Stefan made one last attempt. "Whatever you and Preston have

planned, it won't bring you peace. It won't fix what

happened in your past. It will only make things worse."

"Peace?" Rose's

laugh was brittle. "I don't want peace, Stefan. I want justice. And I'll

get it, with or without you."

She turned on her heel and strode toward the door, her back rigid, her steps swift

and precise. The bar patrons watched her go, then returned to their drinks

and conversations, the drama already forgotten.

But Stefan couldn't forget. Rose's words echoed in his mind, each one

laden with threat. A few days until the Grid

launch. Three days until whatever catastrophe she and Preston had engineered.