Chapter 5 - You now belong to....!!!

Alexander saw how much pain and terror she held in her little eyes.

Alexander slowly got close to the girl as she shrank in fear, and he raised his hand in front of her.

“Take my hand,” Alexander said, but she got even more scared instead of doing it.

“If you take my hand, I’ll take you to meet your parents, and I promise if you hold my hand now, in this world, no one can get even near to hurt you, so do you want to take my hand?” 

Alexander knew if he forced her, she would be even caged, but he needed to make her understand he was not someone who would hurt her.

Rose looked at Alexander; she was hesitant, her blue eyes shifting between his hand and her tiny little hand, which was dug into her pink dress; when she saw he waited patiently.

She was taking time, and he didn’t even look angry or didn’t take his hand away. She calms down still not knowing what to do.

“Little girl, you can trust him, Don't mind his face, it was his birth gift. But he always keeps his promises.” Daniel added when he saw the girl, he couldn’t believe Alexander’s promise.

Damn it, girl, if Alexander Ariston is giving you a promise for life, just believe him; if this promise were for him, he would jump on it already because a promise from Alexander Ariston means even the grim reaper would think twice about coming behind you.

Rose heard the man’s words, and there was a subtle shiver on her hands, revealing her internal struggle between her mind and her heart, her eyes showing it.

But when she faced the unknown man’s eyes before herself, she slowly raised her tiny hand; she didn’t even have the strength to take her hand to him as if she didn't want to go forward. Alexander understood her struggle and brought forward his hand and grabbed her little hand.

Her small hand was cold and too small compared to his big hand; as their hand met, Rose felt warmness, and it calmed her mind as she looked at him again, and this time, there was a little hope sparked in her mysterious eyes.

“No one can hurt you anymore. You now belong to Alexander Ariston, so you don’t need to be afraid, and no one will call you princess again, okay?” Alexander understood where her fear lay, and he took it out.

The realization was drawn to Daniel, so it’s a triggered word for her, thank god. He didn’t call her again; otherwise, Alexander would’ve kicked him ruthlessly.

He was shocked at how this man understood the girl. He was the doctor, but Alexander was not. Looking at her reaction, he understood Princess's words triggered this girl, what kind of magical connection these two have.

But what Daniel didn’t know was that it was not an ordinary connection; it was something no one could even imagine. God built this connection.

“I….” Rose wanted to say something, but she hesitated.

But Alexander understood, “Do you want to say something, little Rose?” The man asked.

Rose blinked. She had something to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask because it seemed she had the answer in her heart, but still somewhere in her heart, she hoped, even a little, god might be kind to her.

“Uncle, my mom, my dad, are they alive?” Rose might be ten years old, but for being strong, no one could beat her because her father taught her life is not always about fairytales; it would take more than it would give you. 

Both Alexander and Daniel fall silent because they have no answer for her, and the answer they have is not for her; she just lost everyone, and she had no one as her own.

But still, they couldn’t lie to her just seeing how hard she tried to hold back her emotions.

“Little Rose, I’m telling you something; you need to understand, okay?” Daniel looked at the girl and tried to find words to explain to her about her parent's death.

Rose blinked, tears welling in her eyes as she struggled to keep the fear in her heart hidden, the emotions a mixture of hope and fear, yet it seemed fear won.

“Dad and Mommy went to a beautiful place with the baby. The baby didn’t like this place, so they took the baby to a place where the baby would be happy, but a big baby like our little Rose is not allowed there, so they didn’t take Rose with them.” Daniel thought these words would be enough to calm her down.

Instead, tears, which Rose tried her best to hold back, kept falling. 

“Uncle, my mommy and daddy are not alive anymore, right? The baby is also dead?” Little Rose’s words buzzed in everyone’s ears, silence fell in the room, the atmosphere changed, and coldness sized the air.

Daniel and Alexander exchanged a look. Alexander understood the girl might be ten years old, but her intelligence was different than a 10-year-old's; she might've been hurt, but she understood the reality of her situation.

“Little Rose, listen to me; Mommy and Daddy went to heaven because their duty in this world ended. The baby has to follow them because he is too small to stay without them, but you’re a big girl, Little Rose, you have me now.” 

Alexander’s smooth-talking surprised Harold and Daniel, freezing them with a foreseen astonishment.

Is this man for real? He had never even talked to anyone with a straight face because he thought talking to humans was a waste of time, yet he gently and patiently tried to coax a little girl’s emotion. Is the world about to end?

But they didn’t dare to voice their opinion; Rose barely could keep track of her emotions, but unlike a 10-year-old who would just break, Rose looked strong.

“Uncle, Can I see my mom and dad one last time?" I want to say goodbye to them so they can leave with my baby brother easily.” Rose looked with a begging gaze at Alexander.

Everyone looked at the girl with surprise; it seemed Maxwell Hart did an excellent job raising this girl; otherwise, how could a 10-year-old girl be so strong even after suffering so much?

But unlike Daniel and Harold, Alexander saw something in Rose’s eyes; when he met the girl, her eyes were full of fear, but there was hope. Now her eyes changed, and these eyes were similar to someone he knew, and that person was none other than him.

When he first faced the world's reality, he changed from a little boy to a man, so he knew what she was thinking in her heart. 

If it were someone else, he would be proud, but when her eyes changed, he didn’t want her to become like him, where life would be full of nightmares; even though he changed and he doesn’t regret it, he didn’t want her to change to become a living corpse.

He just didn’t like the idea.

“Little Rose, I’ll let you meet your dad and mom, but you have to promise me something,” Alexander said as he said gently.