The water soaked through Sophia's cream silk dress, the heavy dampness clinging to her ribs like ice.

The color drained from Theodore’s face. He looked from his mother to Sophia, his eyes darting frantically as he tried to calculate the political and social fallout of what had just occurred.

"Mom... what did you do?" Theo demanded, stepping forward.

"She didn't do anything worth repeating, Mr. Kensington," Arthur said before Beatrice could speak. He stepped into Theo’s path, forcing the younger man to halt. "In fact, your mother just clarified something very important for us."

"Arthur, please," Theo stammered, his professional polish completely melting away. He looked at Sophia with a pleading expression. "Sophia, honey, look—it was a misunderstanding. Mother is under a lot of stress with the estate planning, and—"

"Stop calling me honey, Theo," Sophia interrupted, her voice cutting through his excuses like a scalpel.

She reached up and unclipped the diamond-and-sapphire engagement ring from her left hand—the ring Theo had spent three months selecting to impress his family. She held it out on her palm, letting it catch the conservatory light before dropping it squarely into Theo’s empty teacup.

The tiny clink sounded like a gavel falling in a courtroom.

"You weren't there when I asked you not to leave," Sophia said quietly, looking directly into the eyes of the man she had planned to spend her life with. "And when you did come back, your first instinct was to manage the optics instead of checking if I was okay."

"Sophia, you can't be serious," Theo whispered, panic rising in his chest. "We’re getting married in four months! The invitations are already drafted!"

"Then draft some new ones," Arthur added coldly. "Because my sister is leaving this mausoleum, and your family won't have to worry about our 'lack of social pedigree' ever again. Because Hayes Global is officially withdrawing from all joint-venture proposals with Calloway & Kensington Holdings effective immediately."