Chapter 98 Shattered Foundations
Chapter 98 Shattered Foundations
ROSEMARY
I was now growing used to this strange feeling of being in the penthouse and feeling like the space was do vast and suffocating at the same time.
The time left on the contract was ticking even louder than before now, and the silence between Julian and me had grown into something that was a practical monster - a living thing that fed on every unsaid word and every withheld truth.
I stood in the living room with my arms wrapped around myself, staring at the city lights like they might offer answers the man I had fallen in love with refused to give me.
When Julian finally walked through the door, I did not waste time on pleasantries. Or on playing any games. My mind was already full.
“Tell me about the night that the contract began,” I said, my voice low but unwavering.
“And I want the real story, Julian. Do not give me more fragments and pieces of a puzzle. Do not also make more convenient omissions.”
He stopped in the middle of the room, his shoulders tense, and the charming mask he usually wore cracking at the edges. For a long moment, he just looked at me - his eyes dark with emotions that looked like conflict, regret, and something else that looked dangerously close to fear.
“Alright,” he said finally, his voice rough.
“The Black Card incident… You are right. It was not random. My father orchestrated and planned the whole thing before I knew - before I even had an idea of what was going on. He cut me off that night to force my hand. I was with Sable RavenCroft when it happened. We were having a good time - nothing serious, just… distraction. Then the call came along with the marriage offer, which was supposed to be a deal that would make the only son of the family look good. Then the six month deal too, of course. I heard about it that same night.”
The confession landed like it was a stone in still waters. Impossible to ignore.
Ripples of betrayal spread through me.
“You were with Sable,” I repeated, the name tasting like poison.
“While your father was setting up the trap that would bind me to you.”
“I had no idea and I did not know the full extent of it then,” he said, stepping closer.
“I swear. I thought it was just another one of his power plays. I did not realize how deep it went until later.”
“But you still went through with it,” I whispered.
"You still married me. You still hide things from me. Even now.”
JULIAN
The look on her face carved something out of my chest.
I had finally given her part of the truth - told her about the Black Card manipulation by my father and of that sour night with Sable - but any mention of the signed documents, or even of my father's condition remained buried. I could not bring myself to say them out loud.
Not yet. Not when saying them would make everything too real.
“Rosemary, you are not the only one who’s been dishonest from the start,” I said, the words slipping out sharper than I intended.
“You had endless nights as Scarlet. You wore disguises. You fucked strangers. Your wild life was even wilder than mine. You built your own walls long before I ever entered the picture.”
Her eyes flashed with hurt and fury.
“Don’t you dare turn this around on me. My past was mine. It was private. Before you came around and before this cage that you helped build around me.”
The argument detonated from that point on.
We hurled accusations like they were weapons. Some of the things we both accused each other of had no basis in actual reality and just seemed to be two people looking for points to tear the other down.
“I don't need you to choose me anymore” she cried.
“No. Not after I have finally seen for sure that I was never your choice. I was just a meal ticket and a way back to your father's good graces.”
“What would an entitled queen who had the world adore her from the moment she was born know about things like these anyways?,” I shot back, my voice breaking.
ROSEMARY
I looked at him - the man I had fallen for despite every warning and everything that had happened ever since - and felt my heart splinter.
“Move out,” I said quietly, the words tasting like they were broken glass. Something to be careful around.
"And I mean that for real this time. I can’t keep doing this with you in the same space. Not when every touch of yours really feels like a lie and every silence feels like a betrayal. I don't think I'd be able to survive for tonight this way, not to speak of a whole two weeks.'
Julian’s face went pale. For a moment, I thought he might fight me on it. Instead, he simply nodded, his eyes hollow.
“I’ll go tonight.”
He walked past me towards the guest room to pack a bag. I did not stop him. The door clicked shut behind him a little while later.
I felt my heart sink even though I did not want to admit it.
The penthouse had never felt so empty.
JULIAN
I stood in the hotel hallway later that night, a bag in hand, staring at the closed door of the room that I had just checked into.
Two weeks left and instead of a slowing down of things, everything seemed to be moving faster than ever.
I had finally told Rosemary part of the truth about the Black Card night. But the signed documents - the ones that she had unknowingly put her name to - remained my darkest secret.
And as I lay down on the unfamiliar bed, staring at the ceiling, I wondered if there was any version of us that could survive the full weight of what I was still hiding.
The answer terrified me.