Chapter 2 ~ A vistor

A soft knock woke Rose as her eyes fluttered open slowly. She had a slight headache from crying the previous day.

On her bed was a bouquet of Roses with a note which read,

[I’m sorry about yesterday, Happy 3rd Anniversary.]

A smile stretched Rose’s face as she lifted the flowers to smell them. She was allergic to Roses which was funny because her name was Rose. But she held them with a full heart, ‘He must have been in such a hurry that he forgot about my allergy.’ she thought just as Ethan walked in.

“Good morning,” He said.

“Good morning, thank you for the flowers,” Rose responded.

Ethan nodded as he sat on the bed, “You wanted to say something to me last night?”

Rose’s eyes lit up, all pain forgotten as she placed the rose flowers on the side table and picked up the zip bag where the positive pregnancy test was, “Yes, I have some news. Ethan, I’m-”

Her sentence was cut off by a knock on the door. “Just a moment.” She said to him and walked to open it and found that it was Amanda, their maid.

“Good morning, Mrs Sinclair.” She smiled respectfully.

Rose was in a great mood and hearing that name made her day even brighter, “Good morning Amanda,” She smiled back.

“You have a visitor,” Amanda said but Rose’s brows met in confusion. She wasn’t expecting anyone and because Ethan kept their marriage a secret, no one ever visited him at home,

“Do you know who it is?” She asked.

Amanda nodded, “Yes, she said her name was Zoe Smith.”

Rose’s mood dropped and her stomach twisted in knots. She knew that name very well but she wondered what she wanted, ‘Did she come over thinking he was still the single man she left years ago?’ She mused as she offered Amanda a smile.

“Thank you, I’ll be there shortly.” She said but before she could turn to inform Ethan, he was already on his feet, and that made her wonder if he was expecting her.

“I’ll go check on her,” Ethan said when he noticed Rose was walking behind him.

‘Like hell, you will!’ Rose thought to herself as she offered her husband a small smile,

“We can do it together, besides, it’s only right that I welcome her too. We are also childhood friends, right?” Rose said, placing her hand on his and locking their fingers together.

Ethan watched her, his expression was unreadable as they walked downstairs, hand in hand.

Zoe who was standing in the foyer heard footsteps and turned with a smile but her smile dropped and her hands clenched at her side when she saw that Ethan wasn’t alone and not only was he holding hands with Rose, but she also had a huge diamond ring on her finger.

Her eyes blazed, but she quickly recovered and flashed them both a smile. “Good morning, love birds.” she smiled as she pulled Rose into a small hug and later moved on to Ethan and hugged him too his hands hanging loosely at his side.

“It’s good to see you after so long, Zoe.” Rose smiled as she gestured that they walk into the living room.

“It’s good to be back, I feel like I have so much I need to catch up on.” Zoe half laughed as they took a seat.

Rose watched Ethan and wondered if the feelings he always had were still there, her mind was spinning in thoughts when his deep voice spoke,

“Welcome back, can I know what made you come early in the morning?” Rose asked with a smirk.

“Oh yes,” Zoe responded, turning to grab Rose’s hands and placing them in hers. “My secretary just informed me that you guys were celebrating your third anniversary yesterday. I came to speak to Rose and apologize for ruining your day. I know you probably had plans and because Ethan helped me, they must have been ruined.”

“I understand that you needed help.” Rose smiled, as she searched her eyes to see if she was telling the truth.

“Yes at first, I was so stranded and if not for Ethan, I would have probably stayed there longer, the second time I was so afraid of being alone. I’m sorry Rose, don’t be mad at him.” Zoe said, sounding apologetic and Rose believed her.

‘He probably felt guilty and asked Zoe to come over and clear the air.’ Rose thought.

“No problem,” Rose responded.

Ethan’s phone vibrated and he excused himself leaving Rose with Zoe alone.

With a huge smile on her face, she squeezed Rose’s hand, “Thank you so much for understanding.”

Zoe pulled her hand away and something caught Rose's eye. Throwing all the hope she had out the window.

On Zoe's wrist, was the bracelet that she had been asking Ethan to buy for her. The bracelet was very expensive and could only be purchased by order which took six months to be made and a few weeks for someone as powerful as Ethan Sinclair.

Rose thought Ethan would give the bracelet to her as a gift for their 3rd anniversary, but now the bracelet was on Zoe's wrist.

She looked at the beautiful colors and a lump formed in her throat when she realized that the one Zoe was wearing had the exact colors she chose.

“Did you love the flowers?” Zoe’s voice pulled her out of the web she had sunk in.

Rose cleared her voice, trying to mask the hurt she was feeling, “How did you know I got flowers?”

“Because I picked them.” Zoe smiled, as she reached forward to grab a glass of juice.

“You picked the flowers Ethan gave me?” Her stomach twisted into painful knots

Zoe looked at her like she was not getting the message, “No Silly, Ethan bought those for me. But I asked him to take them and give them to you instead.”

Rose’s eyes widened into Saucers, “Ethan,?-” The name sounded like a broken record, she couldn’t believe he would disrespect her like that.

She stood and was about to call him out when a scream reached her ears, making her halt her steps,

“Ouch!” Zoe cried, as the glass she was holding shattered into pieces.

Ethan heard a crash and rushed back in, “Shit, are you okay?” Concern was evident in his voice and it broke Rose to see her husband care for another woman the way he never cared for her.

He checked Zoe and searched for any injuries, his touch was delicate and his eyes shined with concern. He was about to check on Rose when she pulled his wrist making him turn to face her,

“No! I’ve cut my leg Ethan,!” Zoe cried, “I have a show this week what will I do?” She grabbed onto him and began to sob into his shirt.

“Let’s go and have it checked.” He lifted her bridal style and walked out without another word.