Tessa scrolled the picture on her phone as she leaned toward Asteria.No one noticed a slight hint of displeasure on Albert’s face, including himself.Tessa enlarged the picture so Asteria could see it carefully.“What does this mean?” Asteria asked curiously.As someone interested in art, she understood symbols and could tell the tattoos had a deeper meaning.Tessa explained to her in detail as everyone listened with rapt attention.“These are birds in flight. The lowest one here has a small and barely visible net on it that is trapping the wings. That shows that you will face many hardships at the beginning of the journey. Taking the first step and leaving your familiar circle is always the hardest. It’s difficult to take flight, even if you were escaping imprisonment.”“The second one has one of the wings a little crooked. It symbolizes that the journey is never smooth and has ups and downs. There is hard work and struggles involved.”“The third picture shows smooth sailing, indica
They spent the day in NewT city, where Rosaline took them to CARE home.It was the first they had built.She introduced them to different people and shared stories of how she had met Timothy and CARE came into existence.They rested in a hotel before driving back to S city the next day.Asteria found some time alone with Rosaline to apologize to her. Rosaline only chuckled at her."Don't ever apologize for being yourself. You never did anything wrong. You fancied William and pursued him by showing your sincerity. That takes courage. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. You have never done anything bad.”She added when Asteria seemed unconvinced.“Besides, believe it or not, I do actually like you. Otherwise, I would not have called you along with us. I could have always found someone else to teach Jasmine. I also wanted you to see that your vocation lies elsewhere."That lifted a massive burden off Asteria, and she became more open with the group.The next few months were peac
Rosaline felt overwhelmed entering her parent’s house after so many years. She had left this place heartbroken and had refused to go back. But coming back, she thought she had always been silly. How could she have given up on her family so quickly and easily? She always knew her parents loved her.There could have been a better way to clear the doubts between them.But she had let her pain cloud her sensibility and lashed out, shaming her parents.No matter what anyone said, she was wrong, it was her fault, and she would have to live with it for the rest of her life.Thank god for the therapist for helping her with that.It felt strange to ring the bell. Her fingerprint still worked on the gate. But the main door had more than just one lock.She had never had a key to this house, she thought mockingly.She should have asked for it. She never fought for her rights. The few seconds she spent waiting at the door were some of the longest of her life.She had come back with a small back
“Mommy,” Rosaline said quietly, bringing Elisa back to her senses.Tears streamed down her cheeks upon hearing that.Lina had not called her “Mommy” since before she moved out at ten. Hearing her call that again, Elisa saw a glimmer of hope.She stretched her arms and held her face kissing her forehead before crushing her in a bear hug.George sensed something was not right when Elisa took a long time to open the door, so he checked on her only to see his long-lost daughter in his wife’s embrace.He felt tears well up in his eyes.They had been deeply remorseful of the way they had practically emotionally abused their daughter. No matter how they saw it, it was indeed emotional abuse.He had not even had the guts to seek her out and ask for another chance.They had only one child, and they distanced themselves from her and wronged her until she couldn't take it anymore and left.Maddox had found out from Jack and Tessa what happened when he returned from his honeymoon, and Lina was u
William had an awkward reunion with his mother. He had forgiven his mother. He had also acknowledged that he was at fault for some of her actions.He had always judged her and never really accepted her as she was.Rosaline had made him see that.But despite everything, they never had anything in common, so they could not talk much. At least with his father, William had spent more time, and they knew each other well. They had common interests like playing chess, watching sports, hitting the gym, or boxing together. With his mother, he had none.William, however, tried his best to be affable.He apologized for not visiting her, storming out of the house, not exposing Supriya in front of her, and being distant.He asked how she had been doing, what she was up to if anything had caught her fancy these days - any activity, movies, TV series, games, or new hobbies. They had a pleasant talk but soon ran out of things to say. William also shared some things about himself. But he was aloo
Rosaline, William, and Tessa spent the next few days meeting people - their families, friends, relatives, Uncle Burber, and the underground restaurant.They had a gathering with their friends again.The tug of war between William and Tessa continued. Rosaline finally found an unusual way to resolve their conflict as she readied a room for Tessa on the first floor of the AR mansion.William and Tessa were flabbergasted.Neither was happy with the outcome.Albert came to visit for a few days between Christmas and New Year.William was over the moon about that as he would keep Tessa occupied and Rosaline would be free.Unfortunately for him, the girls decided to have another round of reunion and introduce him to everyone.Tristen came home two days before the new year, and they all again had another reunion with another group.William was beginning to hate the word reunion.He spent time with Tristen as they always used to do.They sparred and talked about everything, well, Tristen talk
After a long time, when Rosaline felt that Miranda had calmed down, she opened her eyes and looked up to her Aunt, who had always been a guardian, a friend, a confidant, and a safe space. “I am sorry.” She bowed her head and apologized.“I don’t forgive you,” Miranda said tearfully.“I will sit here like this till you do.”Lina enunciated in the most childish voice she could make.Miranda laughed at her though she was still tearing up.“You have no idea how much I missed you, Aunty.” Lina fessed up.“You could have come home, Lina. It is your home. Why did you not come home?” Miranda asked chokingly.“I was just dealing with some stuff. I wanted to do it alone. I have to grow up someday, right?” Lina answered vaguely.“You could have done it from here.”“I know. I was stupid and headstrong and was not thinking straight. I will never do anything this foolish ever again, I promise. Or, you ground me until it sinks in.” “Were you okay?”“No. But I managed gradually. I also got busy. I
Rosaline spent the next few days in complete leisure.She did not do any work, having delegated all CARE work to William and others, and taken time off her job in Scott Group.She talked to Miranda and the rest of the family.She and Miranda cooked together and went shopping.She shared stories of the places she had visited. She explained why she had sent the souvenirs she had sent.Maddox and El would go to work since the New Year holidays were over.Four days after Rosaline had shown up, Maddox came home in the evening with Tina.Miranda had not seen Tina in three years and went on to hug her.She had missed her daughter a lot, but like usual, Tina flinched and did not hug her back, breaking her heart. It was always the same.Rosaline only sighed at that and did not say anything.Maddox patted her head and said they needed to talk.She looked at him and told him that if he wanted to do it for her, there was no need.If he was doing it for Tina, try not to get the parents involved.M
William lay on the bed with Rosaline in his arms and little Parth in his crib on the side. “Lexi?” William whispered. “Hmm?” Rosaline hummed in his neck. “Falling in love with you is the greatest achievement of my life. Thank you, darling. I never knew I could be so happy that my heart feels like it’ll overflow.” William said emotionally. “Don’t steal my line. That’s how I feel. With you by my side, I feel invincible.” Rosaline murmured. “I love you so much.” He said hoarsely. “I know. I would argue I love you more, but we both know that’s not true.” Rosaline giggled, peppering kisses on his neck. “Don’t do that!” William sighed. She teased, “Do what?” “Our son is here. We can’t do anything, so don’t provoke me. Besides, you have not healed yet.” William answered. “Teasing you is no fun. You have better control than me.” Rosaline complained. “You should be happy about that. I want you more than you want me.” William teased. “I have noticed our desire for sex and food follow
Everyone had gathered at the AR mansion early as Asteria was to bring Rosaline and William’s baby.Tessa jumped first and ran to the door.She could not snatch the baby from Asteria’s arm, and Asteria would not give him away.They argued as they reached Rosaline’s side.The silent baby finally made a cooing noise as he leaped at Rosaline.“You heartless brat, I have been looking after you for two days, and you did not even speak to me once,” Asteria exclaimed, making everyone laugh.She had become much more cheerful in Apex city. She was unrestrained and happy.Everyone was waiting to hold the baby.Leena whistled and said, “Don’t crowd around him. Give him some breathing space. Rosy will introduce everyone to him.”They all grumbled and sat down.Jack had to grab Tessa and Albert by the collar and make them sit.Meanwhile, the baby rested his head on Rosaline’s shoulders but kept facing outside.“Don’t be mad at Mamma. Mamma was busy. Look, Mamma brought Dada home.” Rosaline convince
Danial, Isabella, Rosaline, and William went to the Scott family mansion.They had identified and reported the spies to the authorities.Someone had screened the entire mansion for hidden bugs.They enjoyed a lively dinner. It was the most peaceful meal in over five months. They shared what was going on and celebrated the reunion.They had planned to fly to Apex city the next day.They had given a week off to everyone in both companies except the support staff. It was to gear everyone up for the drastic changes that were to happen in Scott Group and to set the pace they would pick up at AR Group. Finally, William and Rosaline were alone in their bedroom.He hugged her close as soon as they locked the door.“You worked so hard,” William sounded sad.“It was the only time I had gotten physically involved. I only worked from the sidelines and helped the rescued people. It was emotionally draining to see so much suffering.”“But I tried my best to channel it into helping others, spreadin
Rosaline tried to soothe her.“Forget those vile creatures. That phase in your life is over. It’ll never go away, but it’s only a past now.”“The baby is innocent. It’s 29 weeks old now. Already fully formed.”“That gives you three options - you can keep the baby.”“You can abort it.”“Or you can wait a few more weeks. After the 34th week, we can do a c-section. The baby will be kept in a NICU until it is ready to be taken away.”“It’ll have a very high chance of survival after 34 weeks. You need at least six weeks for your physical injuries to heal anyway. You will be in the hospital regardless.”“And even if you want to abort, you’ll have to wait two weeks before your other injuries are healed enough for the procedure to be safe for your body.”“You can sleep on it and make a choice.”The girl looked at her and asked, “If I give birth, what will happen to the child?”Rosaline answered, “Depends on what you want. You can leave it in CARE if you don’t want to raise it. I promise the c
Rosaline broke the silence before the reporters could ask anything.“This little girl needed 30 stitches to heal the wound caused by rape. I had qualms about signing the consent form to terminate the pregnancy, which she called a monster. It would have undoubtedly torn her already vulnerable body apart.”The host silenced the reporters and played another clip.It showed a hospital bed and a young woman with a big pregnant belly. Her face was blurred, but she looked young.A police officer took her statement while a nurse and Rosaline stayed in the room.“Miss , let me confirm the details as you have mentioned previously. You met Peter a year ago in a cafe. He asked you out, you refused, he started to harass you, and then you filed a complaint against him.”“We found the complaint in the FIR box in the police station of south branch-9, which is close to your house. You and your parents met with an accident five days after you had filed an FIR.”The girl trembled, and Rosaline hel
Rosaline asked.“Whose permission do we need to terminate any possible pregnancy? They are too young to consent to anything, and god knows when we will find their families.”She slumped down and leaned on the wall as she sighed.“On top of everything, I don’t want them to have to carry a pregnancy to term. Under a proper environment, there is a chance they might heal and have a life, a family, and a future ahead. Let’s protect that.”“Thank you, Chief!”“Can we also get permission for the girls to choose if they want to return to their homes or stay in CARE?”“I suspect one of the girls got sold by her family. The others were in unwanted, improvised conditions. Only the 13-year-old seems to come from a loving family. If they don’t have a healing environment at home, let them stay in CARE. When they are better, they can move out anytime they want.”“Thank you, Chief. I will get the documents from you and prepare them after I get checked at the hospital.”“Don’t worry! I won’t mess with
A reporter asked a question that was not related to the case.“Miss Dayne, there are rumors that all the rescued rape victims get forced to have an abortion before being admitted to CARE. Could you shed some light on the matter?”The host replied, “Please keep the questions limited to the case.”Rosaline smiled at the host and answered, “That is not true. But I think I should be able to answer more clearly if your question was specific.”The reporter was stunned but soon asked, “Is it true that you have signed the consent form for abortion for the rape victims who were underage?”“Yes, that is true.”The reporter sneered, “In that case, it is true.”Rosaline countered, “I think you should get your facts straight and understand the nuances while discussing a sensitive topic.”“I have signed a consent form to terminate the pregnancy caused by six months of continuous rape of an 8-year-old who was in no way capable of sustaining a pregnancy on her physically undeveloped body that needed
Chief Green continued after the reporters quieted down.“After an in-depth investigation, we uncovered some evidence which indicated Mr. Jackson Senior’s involvement in the accident of Mr. Andrew Scott’s pregnant wife.”“Mr. Jackson Junior’s involvement in missing funds and misappropriation of money and resources within Scott Group subsidiaries came to light. We also found evidence of him bribing many staff members of Scott Group.”“Ultimately, there was evidence of their involvement in child trafficking. It linked both cases together.”“Furthermore, Mr. Jackson Senior was the leading investigator of the case of Mrs. Andrew. He was also the senior leader overseeing the capture of the suspect - Peter.”“However, there was no motive linking them, and their accounts were clean. And the evidence was not enough.”“So, we had to dig deeper, and we uncovered Mr. Jackson’s sister, who had wanted to marry into the Scott family, had gone missing and was presumed dead two years before Mrs. Andre
“You bitch, you called the cops,” Michael said venomously, spittle spraying from his mouth.“Someone is indeed helping you from the inside. No wonder we failed three times.” Rosaline said calmly.“Hahaha, you are smart. No wonder you found all my hideouts. Too bad you can’t catch me, though.” He sneered.“For what you did to those little girls, I will make sure you get caught, even if it’s the last thing I do,” Rosaline vowed.“Those little cunts were so tight. I am getting hard just thinking of them. The youngest one, how old was that bitch again? Ah! 8, 7 when I bought her. She was one feisty bitch, so much like you. When I shoved myself inside her, she begged until she passed out. One day, I will make sure you do the same. I won’t kill you today. I am going to fuck you bloody first. And, you won’t be able to do anything because you can’t touch me.”Michael punched her on the stomach, spat on her face, and left.Rosaline took a minute before she managed to stand.She took off her ea