The heavy oak doors to Ethan Carlisle's office swung open with a force that made them slam against the stoppers. The sound cracked through the funereal quiet of the top floor.
Ethan was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the door, a phone pressed to his ear. He turned, a flash of annoyance crossing his face when he saw it was her.
"I'll call you back later," he murmured into the phone, his voice instantly softening. Stella knew, that he was speaking to Isabelle.
He ended the call and faced her, his expression hardening into a mask of paternal disapproval. "Stella. What are you doing here? I thought we agreed."
Her heels clicked like gunshots on the polished marble as she walked toward him. Her eyes swept over the office-the mahogany desk she'd helped him choose, the abstract painting she'd picked out for the wall. It all felt like a stage set for a life she was never meant to be a part of.
"I'm here to discuss the 'compensation' for my public humiliation," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion.
A flicker of relief crossed Ethan's face. This, he understood. A transaction. A tantrum that could be soothed with a gift. This was the Stella he thought he knew.
He moved to his desk and pulled open a drawer, retrieving a thick, elegant parchment envelope. He slid it across the polished surface toward her.
"I know you're upset," he said, his tone dripping with condescension. "Isabelle's situation is delicate. We just need some time. This is an acceptance letter to Columbia's Master's program in Art History. At their Paris campus."
He leaned back in his chair, the picture of magnanimity. "All fees are paid. I've already arranged a beautiful apartment for you in Le Marais. A year in Paris will be good for you. For your... career."
It wasn't a suggestion. It was a sentence.
Stella picked up the envelope. Her name was printed on it in perfect calligraphy. She slid out the heavy cardstock.
Ethan watched her, a self-satisfied smirk playing on his lips. He thought he had won. He thought he had bought her compliance.
Her fingers tightened on the letter. Then, with a single, sharp movement, she ripped it in half. The sound was shockingly loud in the silent office. She didn't stop there, tearing the two halves into quarters, then into a shower of tiny white pieces that drifted down to settle on the priceless Persian rug.
Ethan's face went from smug to thunderous. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea what I had to do to get that?"
"Listen to me very carefully, Ethan," Stella interrupted, her voice low but carrying the weight of steel. "The wedding is not postponed. It's canceled."
He stared at her, his jaw slack, as if she had just started speaking in a foreign language. "Canceled? You don't have the authority to cancel it."
He stood and moved toward her, reaching for her arm. "Stella, be reasonable."
She sidestepped him, her movement fluid and quick.
"I promise you," he said, his voice a placating drone, "as soon as Isabelle is stable, I will give you the wedding you deserve."
A harsh laugh escaped her lips. "You mean, after your precious white lily has recovered, you'll deign to marry me? The consolation prize?"
She pulled out her phone, enlarged the photo, and shoved the screen in his face.
"What exactly is her illness?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. "The kind that requires treatment at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic?"
The color drained from Ethan's face. His eyes darted from the phone to her, pure panic flickering in their depths.
"It's not what you think," he stammered, his composure finally cracking. "She was just... there for a routine check-up!"
"Your lies are pathetic," Stella said, pulling the phone back. The last ember of warmth she might have ever felt for him died in that moment. "They make me sick."
She turned to leave, the conversation over.
A hand clamped down on her upper arm, fingers digging into her flesh with bruising force. He spun her around.
"Stella!" he snarled, his face inches from hers. "Don't you forget who you are. You are a Beaumont. Without the Carlisle name, you are nothing in this city. Your family will never allow you to be this reckless."
She felt the pain in her arm, saw the threat in his eyes. But inside, there was nothing. Only a vast, cold emptiness. He was right about one thing. Her family would never allow it. But he was wrong about everything else.
