Bernard's POV
Sebastian's harsh words still burned in my mind as I left the Sterling headquarters: "What the hell are you waiting for? Go after her."
He was absolutely right. While I'd been drowning in corporate concerns and fretting about professional consequences, Penny was somewhere processing the devastating blow Cassandra had calculated with surgical precision. If she truly mattered to me—and Christ, she mattered more than I'd dared acknowledge—I should have been at her side hours ago.
The London streets were choked with evening traffic, but the delay gave me precious time to rehearse what I'd say when I finally reached her door. How could I possibly explain my failure to shield her during that brutal board meeting? How did I apologize for being the messenger who delivered her professional death sentence? How could I prove that she meant infinitely more to me than any company policy?
That's when I spotted the small flower boutique tucked into the corner of Regent Street.
