Rose fell silent. Her brain and body seemed to be disconnected. She was still motionless, frozen before the man, who looked different from the last time they met. It was like being trapped in a sensory distortion. The air around Rose was filled with painful tension. She just wanted to burn the 15 roses, which were received from hand to hand for five consecutive days. However, her readiness had to be hindered when Theo walked in with wobbly steps. Not even looking at Rose, when he had the chance to look away.
"Here's the lighter, Miss-" Just like Rose. Beatrace stopped when she realized Theo was there-standing with an unreadable ripple on his face. Having barely seen each other, the slight change was obvious. "Good afternoon, sir." Beatrace ventured a greeting. The nod she received was followed by Theo's departure with a decisive step. Beatrace also looked at where her master had gone. Then turned to Rose. "There is a mas"I said get out!" "No way!" argued Rose. Approaching with explosive curiosity. Theo's appearance in her eyes had always been perfect. Different from the one Rose currently noticed. That stain... really invites curiosity. "Why are your clothes dirty?" Getting closer. Rose tried to touch the button of the shirt Theo was wearing. "None of your business. Go away!" The reality was that Rose failed when Theo chose to avoid. Every action the man made, pulling off the dirty shirt, did not escape Rose's sight. Half of Theo's shoulders and arms were covered in abstract tattoos. Rose couldn't quite grasp the meaning of the ink that blended with Theo's skin pigment. The tattoos she saw were already there, she didn't feel the need to meddle with them unnecessarily. Except, when the man approached the figurine on the bed. Theo seemed to be holding a small object, or Rose could call it a camer
His lil sister. That was obvious. Rose didn't need to show any overreaction, but there was still one thing that had her overwhelmed with curiosity-what and how. She took a step closer, another step... then the distance between them vanished. Theo's half-naked body didn't matter. Rose touched the surface of that chest slowly-little by little getting acquainted with the sculpted skin to the rows of abdominal muscles. Theo's breathing was labored. Rose could feel it when he looked up, noticing how the look in the ashes was misty with hurt, as well as passion. "I so fucking miss you, Rose." Theo's statement was like a lullaby, Rose was forced to sleep just to escape the bad thoughts. She brushed Theo's large fingers away as she felt a gentle squeeze on her arm. "I still have one more question, and don't think I've forgiven you when you haven't."
"Lion, I need your help!" There was nothing to explain. Rose needed Lion to go back and break down the door to Dara's room. She had waited, thinking Theo would come out after everything was over. Until the commotion died down a bit, Rose got nothing. Not once did Theo respond to her efforts. Strangely enough, Rose didn't understand why a short sentence from him had such an effect. The waves seemed to crash over their pebble-stuck relationship. They were never okay, like two people who didn't belong together. If Rose hadn't been presumptuous enough to intrude on Theo's past. Maybe there wouldn't have been such a hassle. She didn't expect Theo to have more emotions than she had ever seen. "Come on, Lion, hurry!" Continuing to pull brought Lion to where he needed to be. Rose held her breath, feeling even more disoriented when she heard the same shattering sound, even worse. "Theo is inside. Hurry up and break down the door," Rose said half-urgently. They had to hurry, or somethi
Behind the face that was buried in the recesses of that warm neck. There was a tinge of reddish color that couldn't help but appear. Not much different from the reaction she showed, Rose realized Theo's body was frozen... until she felt a thorough rubbing of her back softly. "Are you sure, Sugar?" Theo touched Rose so carefully. Adoring every sculpted curve of her female body. Or actually he was neutralizing the shock Rose had created. Theo didn't believe anything at all, it was hard enough, but couldn't resist the kind of wedding Rose wanted. "When do you want to have the blessing?" Theo's question was the trigger for what felt like a real buzz. Rose fumbled, never thinking Theo would be so quick to agree to her request. "When?" She repeated the one word at the beginning, which was the farthest shadow of Rose's memory. "Yes, when do you want to do the blessing?" Rose watched Theo's face carefully, searching for something there... perhaps Theo was offering a joke under the gu
"Theo?" Rose woke up wondering. In her sleep, she had dreamt of a very real commotion. Faint sounds, even still echoing, formed a trigger in her head. Rose moved to position herself to sit back slowly. Since the commotion yesterday, until the situation got better-Rose had to face Theo's attitude that never let her go. However, this time was different, Theo was nowhere to be found on the side of the bed. As Rose recalled, before she fell asleep. The man was still focused on playing with the laptop on his lap. "Mercy, sir. I won't do it again." A faint whisper of fear caught Rose's attention. Supposedly in the middle of the night like this, there was no sound that was still propagating as a wave emission, and was captured directly by her hearing. But Theo's distinctive baritone voice added to Rose's curiosity. She immediately moved, slowly towards
Who could help Rose hide her face from the guests? The situation at the altar was inevitably tense. It had only been a few seconds that she had felt resigned to sing her readiness for marriage vows, naming Theo as her partner for life. Now the admiration of some people made her unable to restrain herself. Hesitantly Rose's net glowed, watching the faces there. There had to be a justification, that the blessing was just a formality. Those sitting upright were Theo's people. There wasn't anyone Rose would have expected to be unfamiliar. Not even Bridgette, who was not part of the event today. Rose turned to look at Theo sharply. The man who could not be expected - shattering all Rose's dreams because of his madness. Rose felt a twinge of regret for making a decision that made her lose face. "Give me your hand, Sugar. You're keeping everyone waiting." The innocent face smiled sweetly, took Rose's fingers and pinned on the ring that Rose patented as a sac
"You took me all the way from Milan to Toronto just to get that thing in your hand, Sugar?" Theo had been watching Rose's movements from the moment she stepped out of the apartment. Those unusual steps, several times barely holding her balance. Rose's wide-eyed stare and pale face never escaped Theo's attention. He also took a wide step, taking Rose's body into his arms with ease. "This is the result of not listening to my orders. You're pregnant, you shouldn't be exhausted like this." Theo's tone was firm, carrying Rose's body towards the exit. "Can't we rest here for the night?" "There's a lot of dust here. It's not good for your health. Besides, I asked you to sleep on the way, but you wouldn't listen." "That's because I didn't want you to take advantage of an opportunity," Rose muttered, ending with her face buried in the crook of Theo's neck. That pleasant body scent occasionally made her noggin clo
The tendrils of the wind were like serenades that echoed in Rose's hearing. She noticed two separate buildings, one of which was a pavilion built above sea level. While the main building, almost entirely made of translucent glass, towered a few meters from the shore. Rose's steps were in tandem with the man leading her over the suspension bridge. There was no telling what purpose Theo had in bringing her to the pavilion. They were supposed to prepare everything before actually staying in the villa for the next few days. "Don't you want to pack up your things? I see they brought three suitcases," Rose asked, occasionally turning to look at the three men who walked resolutely into the building across the land. "They'll get everything ready. I told you, you just need to enjoy the facilities that are already available." "But I think this is too much, Theo. We have hands and feet, we can do things ourselves, why order others
Zever's sudden departure made quite an impression on Rose. At that moment she and Travis silently watched the backs of two people who were moving away. Rose didn't dare say anything as she herself realized Travis was leaving her behind—Travis looked down and Rose hoped he was okay, then followed with careful steps carrying her triplet into the mansion building. Two hours after the incident in the back garden, and after putting the children to bed, Rose soon caught up with Zever's whereabouts. Through the messages given to Lion, Rose certainly monitored whatever was happening outside. This included asking how Travis was doing. The man was behaving as before, but there was one problem. Zever in the living room with a ripple face so cold and gray eyes that stared half-empty arranged miniature joints on the table. Rose repeatedly took a breath just to steady herself sitting next to her husband. "Zever," Rose called out, wanting to make sure he would respond or not. Z
"I'm done, Theo. Now it's your turn—" Rose thought, after stepping out of the bathroom and changing there. She would find Theo keeping all three of their babies in their proper positions, but that big body—in his sideways sleep—seemed to be deeper than the three babies who were snoozing peacefully. Exhausted. That's how Rose interpreted it, because these days Theo was often busy in the middle of the night—looking after their babies, while Rose was forced to rest. Rose smiled slightly as she rubbed the top of Theo's head. It was only for a moment that she turned to her triplets to transfer them to the trolley. Rose would take them for a walk in the back garden. Finished with the transfer she returned to Theo simply covering her husband's body with a thick blanket. "We're leaving first." Rose briefly kissed the corner of Theo's face. She pushed the trolley carefully towards the elevator. Rose already knew where the elevator was, it was quite hidden—and Theo had no
"I got a lot of grandchildren." O'Douglas laughed like a pirate captain who had just discovered a historic treasure. Each of the middle-aged man's arms flanked two tiny babies, while the other was in the arms of Verasco, who continued to hold them, occasionally bringing them closer with a lighthearted joke. There was no telling what Rose would say as she watched her children being swarmed as soon as Verasco and O'Douglas walked into the ward. She had just finished breastfeeding, so the satiated babies would just sleep through the day, and not trouble their two grandfathers. "You never stopped looking at me," Rose said quietly. Most of the time Theo had a glare on his face, but right now the gray bead was shining something different. It was so loving and some of it Rose couldn't interpret correctly. How could Rose stand being shot at so closely. Theo had to, just once, look away from her. "Thank you, Sugar." A gentle touch on the skin of Rose's face made her
Rose didn't expect Theo to take her to the island of Ortogia, the historical center of the Sicilian city of Sirakusa, to enjoy the beauty of the Mediterranean sea. The scents by the sea were soothingly beautiful. Rose had not forgotten that Theo had not once let go of her body on the man's broad shoulders after walking along the old buildings on the islands of Ortogia. "Whose house is this?" asked Rose looking at a sturdy building that looked like it was meant for two people to live in. "Our house." There wasn't much Rose could say, except to bury her face deep in the hollow of Theo's neck. The masculine scent was still very much present, even after they had spent the whole day entertaining the guests, as if the perfume was very much at home on Theo's clay skin. "Want to go straight to bed or shower first, Sugar?" In front of a door Theo stopped and let Rose get on the floor. Between hesitation and the need for something fresh she finally looked up at Theo.
"Ready?" Rose nodded as Theo spoke over the top of her head. She was indeed standing with her back to Theo, holding the handle of a long cookie-cutter knife, while Theo's large fingers grasped each of her knuckles warmly. The multi-tiered cake, or not much different from a fragile tower, was being split open. The blade slowly descended downward to symbolize sharpness. Rose smiled almost melting into laughter when Theo whispered something funny to her, funny but Rose wouldn't tell anyone. Let her keep it to herself and make it an important fun moment. After the first slice of cake Rose and Theo should have been feeding each other. Instead Theo scooped out the cream and immediately applied it to Rose's lower lip. Rose's face was a mess, but that was exactly what Theo wanted. He took Rose's lips like he was taking a delicious cake. The sweetness of the sugar and butter mixture seemed to make Theo insatiable. He licks Rose so intimately—there's no end to it—that Rose
"It's enough. I'm full." Again Rose had to restrain herself as Theo's big fingers tried to push away the bowl of white porridge in her hand. "Just a little more, Theo. You have to finish your porridge." "Come on." Rose brought another spoonful of porridge closer, but that face refused. "Don't make me eat bad porridge, Sugar. It's tasteless." "That's why if you eat while looking at me, you'll get some flavor." "One more bite. I promise after this is over." "I don't believe it. You said that earlier, don't you remember?" Rose's wide grin completely fooled Theo. The man was exactly a child who had lost his appetite. It was very difficult to persuade him to open his mouth. "This time I'm serious about the last one. Ahk... open wide." Rose thought Theo would immediately accept her bribe. Instead, the man moved the elbow of Rose's hand, moving the bow of the spoon to Rose's own lips. "You should eat too." "I ate earlier," Ro
One day after Theo regained consciousness, Rose finally decided to return to her home, the place where she once lived alone next to her small restaurant. At the moment there wasn't much for Rose to do other than prepare to meet Theo at the hospital. Rose immediately drove her father's borrowed car. On the back passenger seat she placed a medium-sized box with several holes in it that was wrapped very beautifully. While beside her sat a cute little dog with curly hair and white color like cotton. Yesterday Rose had just bought the poodle breed at the pet shop. Intrigued. That was all that drew Rose's desire to bring home the poodle named Cocomelo. "We've arrived." Rose prepared a special backpack to carry Cocomelo on her shoulders, so that when she first entered the infirmary Theo would not immediately meet her Cocomelo but Rose would show him. And in her hand, she carried the medium-sized box and walked into the hospital. Not just daring, but Rose had already ob
Coming back from the bathroom, Rose thought she would be faced with the same situation. She had warned against it by waiting longer in the humid room until some of the noises from outside faded away. But everything Rose had expected was not true. The blood seepage on the floor when she opened the door was gone. Verasco's subordinates... even Verasco himself was nowhere to be seen, in his husband's infirmary. All that was left was Lion waiting very quietly, arms folded across his chest as he watched Theo silently. "Are you still here, Lion? Where are the others?" asked Rose as her steps brushed the side of the blanket. "Mr. Verasco asked me to wait here, Miss." Lion's attention was finally diverted. Rose suspected that he had just returned from the police station and helped Verasco and Elijah to execute George. As for George's betrayal, perhaps it was a wake-up call for Verasco to be more intolerant of hidden intentions and whatever else might happen. "Where is my
"On the way home. Their story has a happy ending. Finished." Rose closed the 400 pages book and placed it on the nightstand. Reading sweet stories had become her routine in the past few days. Rose smiled slightly at her husband's face who was lying so quietly. This morning the breathing apparatus had just been removed indicating Theo's condition was getting better after the bloody spear incident. Luckily, they immediately brought Theo to get the right treatment. Theo had to undergo surgery three times. He had lost a lot of blood and needed transfusions as soon as possible. Rose remembered that some arguments happened between them regarding Theo who had very step blood, even Verasco was helpless about it. Just a Wench .... That's what Verasco said at that time with a trembling tone of voice. Like he was so regretful. Really regretful, until finally Travis suggested the few people who were still left in Italy to bring some bags of Theo's blood that were taken two