The Rose He Showed Off Is Putting Down Roots in a Garden of Her Own novel Chapter 31

Leaving the Whitaker building, Elara Vance sat behind the wheel of her car, a heavy wave of defeat washing over her.

These days, Vance Properties bled bad news. Every single department was putting out fires.

The company was like a massive, starving machine—completely stripped of capital, with every moving part hovering on the brink of total shutdown.

Disasters were ready to detonate at any given second.

Zane Whitaker’s failure to show up today felt like a blaring red siren.

It could only mean one thing: Zane was pulling out of the deal.

With the Vance family on the verge of total collapse, the Sterlings were absolutely going to leave them out to dry.

While Zane might not have all the gritty details, Elara knew the truth.

The collapse of Vance Properties was inevitable, and Julian's refusal to bail her out was a harsh reality.

Julian had thrown the word divorce in her face just last night.

She wanted out, and so did he. All that remained was the legal paperwork and the brutal slicing up of their assets.

Zane was ruthless and sharp. Even from those few clipped words on the phone last night, he had undoubtedly pieced the whole mess together.

Without the Sterling family's backing to act as a safety net, Zane would re-evaluate the risks. He was probably cutting his losses right now.

Frustration gnawed at Elara's chest.

She had been far too emotional, acting with reckless abandon. She never should have hired that escort, and she definitely shouldn't have shattered the fragile illusion of her marriage.

She should have played the perfect Mrs. Sterling, dragging out the charade to buy time until Vance Properties was safely acquired.

Slumping forward, Elara rested her forehead against the steering wheel and let out a long, shaky breath.

Every single day was a battle against impossible odds, yet she had to strut into the office projecting absolute, unshakeable confidence for her team.

But playing dress-up in a power suit did nothing to fix the grim reality of their balance sheets.

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