“You should start saving more aggressively.”
Rosa answered, “Is Mr.
Mercer unhappy with my work?”
“This is not about your work.”
“Then what is it about?”
“Married couples need boundaries.
You cannot expect this arrangement to continue forever.”
“Has Mr.
Mercer asked you to tell me this?”
A pause.
Then Veronica said, “You should not force me to make this unpleasant.”
The recording stopped.
Rosa’s eyes filled, but she refused to let the tears fall.
“You told me he wanted us gone,” she said.
Veronica lifted her chin.
“Eventually, he would have.”
Ethan’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“You used my name to frighten her.”
“I was handling a domestic issue you were too distracted to notice.”
“No.
You were clearing my home of people you did not consider worthy of being seen.”
Veronica glanced at the engagement ring on her hand.
“Think carefully about what you are doing.”
“I am.”
“Our wedding is in six weeks.
Contracts have been signed.
Guests are flying in.
Your board members will be there.
The press already has the date.”
Rosa took a small step backward.
The scale of the consequences frightened her more than the argument.
She had seen photographs of the planned wedding: the private estate, the custom dress, the names attached to the guest list.
She did not want anyone claiming she had destroyed it.
“Mr.
Mercer,” she said, “please don’t make a decision because of me.”
Ethan turned to her.
“I’m not making it because of you.”
He looked back at Veronica.
“I’m making it because of what she chose to do when she thought I would never notice.”
Veronica’s mouth tightened.
“So that is it? You will throw me away for the maid?”
Ethan’s eyes sharpened.
“For the last time, her name is Rosa.”
Veronica pulled the engagement ring from her finger.
For one second, Rosa thought she might hand it to him.
Instead, Veronica threw it across the room.
The diamond struck the marble and spun beneath a chair.
Lily flinched.
Ethan moved between the child and Veronica without thinking.
That instinctive motion ended whatever remained.
“You need to leave,” he said.
Veronica stared at him.
“This is my home.”
“No.
You made that very clear.
You believe a home belongs only to the person with the most expensive possessions.”
