"Thank you for your help, Miss. Can we leave now? I need to check on Mr. T, and Lion... I think it's time to take Esmeralda for grooming."
Rose looked up and took a breath as Travis and Lion took turns looking at her. A moment ago they had just returned from the Verasco mansion. Several wounds lodged on the body due to the shootout incident, Rose was instead responsible for treating the three men who barely even complained during the cleaning of the blood on the gaping wounds. The wounds were fortunately not that severe. Only wide scratches on the hands, shoulders, and legs, so it was not enough to make it difficult for them to return to their activities. "With my pleasure, Travis. I'll catch up with you later." Rose's thin smile signaled to Travis something he could easily understand. Still Rose looked over the shoulders of the two men away. The curl on her lips disappeared as she looked down again. "They're so single, why didn't you date one of them yesterdThe faint howl of a loud howl drew Rose's senses slowly blinking. The first time she opened her eyes the only sight she got was her husband's handsome face. The too-close position presented how the texture of the skin lured Rose's fingers to just touch the forehead and creep smoothly towards the jawbone. She thought once he woke up, those eyes would show a beautiful infusion of color. Turns out Theo was still comfortably in the same state. Not even a hint of anything else, Theo was quietly closed, too far away for Rose to reach. He murmured a little .... Louder howls from outside forced Rose to blow air through her lips. Then she got up, releasing the hug on Theo's body indirectly. Half transfixed, Rose huddled with Lion in the doorway. The frame was still submerged in Rose's body, only the face poked out and when she glanced down... Rose's senses found Esmeralda already equipped with an oversized pink ribbon pinning the fur on the top of the head. "Why did you
"Axe, is this your flash drive? I found it in your pants pocket when I was washing." The man focused on the desk shifted his gaze to the woman walking slowly towards him. The forehead was folded like he was thinking about something. No idea for how many seconds the owner of heterochromia eyes was trying to pry something out of his mind. A flash drive .... Xelle grasped the object firmly. "Damn!" He then rubbed his rough face, having forgotten the CCTV evidence he had gotten to show Rose. "I have to go, baby girl." Everything in sight was packed up in an instant, including the laptop that was about to be taken out. "Where are you going?" A soft voice interrupted the wide strides. "To see Rose." As if he ignored Bridgette's presence. Xelle approached his wife again, gently touching the skin of the woman's face as she gazed deeply at him. "Can I come?" Bridgette's spontaneous question made the man shake his head faint
'Are you jealous?' Rose vividly remembered the question before Xelle said goodbye, and she had to follow the nurse's departure to the main room. What wife would stay silent if something wrong was lurking in front of her. Rose felt that way. In her eyes, the nun was not at all reflective of someone in the nursing profession, who should not be showing her breasts beneath her clothes. Rose had to be wary that the nurse might do something out of the ordinary. Or actually Xelle was right... Rose was jealous of that one. She couldn't help herself. On the other hand, in the case of the video evidence from Xelle, Rose had already agreed that she would investigate the real culprit together with Theo one day when her husband was fully recovered. Now she had to focus on how and when Theo would open his eyes, and most importantly be meticulous in monitoring the actions the nurse demonstrated to him. Luckily, Esmeralda's presence was enough to interrupt every a
"Oh, my gosh. Why is that husky chasing me!" The departing nurse quickened her pace as she grumbled in annoyance. Gallop after gallop she passed with her heart beating fast. The distance between the two was narrowing. If she didn't alert herself, Esmeralda's bite would be the worst part of the inevitable. Already past the steps of the stairs. The nurse was having trouble controlling her balance. She almost reached the exit gate right in front of her... from the same direction Lion frowned reading the contents of the message Rose had sent moments ago. Unfortunately for the nun, Lion's appearance was a big favor that came to save her from Esmeralda's pursuit. "Help me, Lion—" Esmeralda's howl was right next to the pocket of the nun's clothes, as if from the very beginning Esmeralda's goal was exactly to get the pocketed object. "What are you doing!" The nurse reached into her own pocket to grasp the object Rose had wanted earlier. Even more unl
Rose used the folds of her arms as face support. Her only action was to silently scrutinize the extent to which Theo did not want to open his eyes. Gradually behind Rose's silence, she could feel the near-breaking touch that repeatedly occurred on the thigh. Rose looked down, as her heart rate jumped violently. The pounding in there was beyond capacity... Rose couldn't help it. She got to her feet. Taking turns quickly glancing at Theo's face and fingers. Rose's vision was blurry and glassy. She wiped away the water that was unconsciously seeping in, as soon as possible smothering half of Theo's body. Tight, but not painful. "Theo ...." "Open your eyes, Theo. You can do it," Rose whispered. Hoping that right then and there her husband's closed lids would slowly reveal the gray bead Rose had longed for. She would have to wait a long time for the pure alarm of the mind to drive Rose to see Travis. Rose's wide feet skipped ahead of Theo and left her husban
'Don't you know who I am?' It was a single confusing question from the woman with a pained face and tears in her eyes that seeped wet everywhere, including the beads of anxiety that fell down to spread on the surface of the thick white blanket. The long sleep seemed to tear away the remnants of memories that once existed. The owner of the gray bead struggled to remember the last time he had been in a strange place, which he had never actually visited. A few oddities came to mind, most notably that he didn't have the slightest idea who the dark-brown-haired woman was who had given him no room to move all morning. A bit stiff really. However, he tried to get up wanting to further confirm where he was at the moment. His memories were faintly faded—vaguely unable to be properly retrieved. Some of what was expected did not appear. On the contrary, the unwanted ones were very close by. "Are you sure you don't know me?" The soft voice asked softly again
"Morning, sir." Travis smiled slightly as his prediction was correct. Theo realized... there was a quizzical look on his face. "Why are you calling me that?" The curl on Travis' lips disappeared in an instant, then he looked at Rose more deeply as if rethinking the woman's statement just now. "What do you feel, sir?" Travis instead took demanding action. He preferred to wait for the right time to provoke Theo to reveal the truth himself. It was possible that Travis already knew one thing. "I'm fine. Just feeling a little uncomfortable." Theo struggled to get up, occasionally clutching his temples as Travis struggled to lean against the headboard. "Who is she?" The question pulled Travis silent for a few seconds. Rose, on the other hand, patiently endured the pain that rushed through her. Travis's breath finally came out half-roughly. "She's Rose. Your wife, Mr. T—Mr. Zever." Realizing he was dealing with a different person. Travis i
Rose's fingers hesitantly touched the doorframe of the main room. The time spent calming down and accepting reality in its entirety and clarity had ended since she had decided to go back to see Zever. This time Rose had to get used to the call. It wasn't Theo she was dealing with, although Rose would have liked to have had a face-to-face meeting with that person. Rose misses Theo. However, reality seemed to bring the two together. Rose didn't know how Zever was, whether the man could accept the fact that 'he' was a married man. Zever was quiet and didn't talk much. That's what Lion said when Rose had a confiding session that happened to briefly borrow Lion's chest just to make sure what the reaction to the tattoo on her arm was like. Nothing. Rose found nothing glittering there, and began to assume and even understand that it was only towards Theo/Zever that the tattoo would reveal itself. And again Rose remembered Lion's words. 'I have more
There was no response whatsoever, other than that handsome face sinking further into the folds of the arms. Rose didn't want to think her husband was exactly like a little boy hiding something from her. Theo was avoiding being stared at, that much was obvious and Rose's suspicion grew more and more certain as she herself struggled to pull Theo up simply to reposition him to face forward. Rose's long breath rushed into the air. For a moment she thought of looking down to whisper something. However, the words she had composed in her mind vanished as soon as she found a box nestled deep under the bed. It was completely familiar to Rose. She reached out to touch the object. It should have been a matter of pulling out when Rose's fingertips reached one of the corners of the square box, but instead Rose's action was restrained by Theo who brushed her off and as if on purpose, one of Theo's pushes made the box jut away from their position. Rose growled in anger—suppressed b
'Miss, Travis says Mr. T has calmed down.' Rose recalled one of Lion's statements that ended up getting her back into the car. They traveled towards Theo's mansion, and along the stretch of rocks they passed Rose's gaze was only drawn to the movement of the trees that seemed to be following her. And just like that, Rose felt that the last conversation with Verasco was still looming in her mind. They were not finished yet, but Rose believed she had given Verasco a small leverage. A stare. The meaning of the tightened jaw. It was all Rose's belief that Verasco would not have given her an option if it was true that the man did not believe. Or actually because such things were still related to her father. For some reason Rose felt foolish in making a choice. It was a moment—a tense moment—she had to give up one, while her heart begged to have both. "You're right. I know Theo too. My husband has his reasons for not coming to you." Rose replied as Verasco's hose shooed
"Mr. Verasco also just arrived." Rose confirmed Lion's mutterings from the side. She stopped the car—turning for a moment to the man who had just stuffed his cell phone into his pants pocket. Rose guessed that Lion was sending a message to his man according to what Rose had said. She quickly got out after Verasco like a king who was greeted with respect. "Wait," Rose hesitated—not knowing what to call it. Rose swallowed harshly as Verasco waited at the end of the steps. Those eyes were sharp as if they wanted to skin her mercilessly. "I don't think I've invited a prostitute into the grounds of my mansion." Such a cynical greeting didn't hurt Rose any more than having to imagine Theo's anger which was probably still very much on fire. "What are you doing here? Changed your mind and want to sell your body?" "I'm no longer interested." The image of Rose's face kept reminding Verasco that the blood running through that body was O'Douglas' bloodlin
It was too painful when the man had left her existence. Going far away. Untouchable. And Rose was sure that the more the sturdy shoulders were built up, the more the recently demolished skeleton would be forced to collapse. Exactly Verasco's statement. Callous phrases spoken in such a cruel way that they had a profound effect on Theo and took away whatever form they took, which was even the same thing—Rose had to watch her husband build a high wall. She hasn't tried to reach it yet, but knows it won't be easy. Rose couldn't drag Theo by the arm like she had in the past and whisper soft words. Inviting her husband into the room, then Theo would say yes. None of that was easy. Not when Rose's decision was too late to make. Theo was already making his way down to the top floor in the left wing. What could Rose do as the door thudded loudly, bouncing off the mansion's skylights. Rose had never even so much as focused her mind on the highest point of the building's structure, which
Underneath the hiding place Rose's heart pounded violently. She couldn't understand how Theo could be so calm, while the man's heartbeat was Rose listening. She was a little jealous of Theo's skill in dealing with a tense situation. Verasco's presence was nerve—wracking when Rose thought she and Theo should be sharing their closeness in the presence of the man who had strictly forbidden their relationship. "What is this asshole doing?" "He's hacking into something?" There was a pause after Verasco's question aired freely. Rose hoped that Lion—who was probably still accompanying the middle-aged man—could give a plausible reason without being dishonest. It was dangerous if Verasco knew the truth about what Theo was doing secretly. "Yes, sir. Mr. T is indeed having a drop." Woe be to Lion. Rose could barely keep herself from swearing harshly. Lion was too... honest. "Hacking what?" "That I don't know, sir. You can probably ask Mr. T directly la
Waking up under the warm, soothing gaze of her husband's eyes seemed to lead Rose astray into the gray beads and thick fur that seduced her defenses. She closed her eyes again and nuzzled the surface of Theo's chest more closely. Inhaling the masculine scent that never faded a bit until the only thing Rose couldn't escape was that intoxicating fragrance. Rose deepened the sweep of her face in search of the most comfortable position, at least until Theo embraced her with his arms, but he did not. Theo gently grasped her dark brown hair, which felt just right as the man's large fingers sank between strands and then rubbed the back of Rose's head lightly. "Still sleepy, Sugar?" Theo's baritone voice was crisp as if the man had been preparing for a long time to ask her just one question. Rose pulled herself up onto Theo's body. Let her husband lower his head slightly, and she would look up to start the conversation. "You've been up since earlier?" That swee
Rose woke up amidst the silence passing through her body. She scanned the perimeter of the living room still sharing the same oxygen and other things that wouldn't change. Including her husband—Theo on the side sitting back with his beady eyes closed so calmly, as if unaffected by the slightest movement from Rose who had just removed the arm band around that solid and firm body. She didn't know the last time Theo had immersed himself in the deep sea between them. Rose only remembers the little part of her that couldn't hold on any longer, then fell asleep clinging to Theo's body. While her husband was busy drumming on the keys of the keyboard, occasionally rubbing the top of Rose's head–offering a nod to the drowsiness and heaviness in her eyes. Rose's gaze shifted momentarily to an object on Theo's lap. It looked like Theo's coding work had been completed. A horizontal green line almost a quarter full filled the empty box lengthwise on the monitor screen. Then Rose as
"You brought Esme out of the cage to meet Mr. Zever, Miss?" Lion's one swift question seemed to intimidate Rose that she had just made a big mistake. While twisting the lid of the jar of snacks that had just been removed from a whole plastic packet, Rose deliberately did not let her gaze linger on Lion for long. Neither did she deny the accusation based on the 'truth'. It was Rose, and she had no intention of simply wishing for time to turn back to fix her empty knowledge. If Rose hadn't brought Esmeralda to the main room and sent Zever into a tizzy. Maybe she wouldn't have been hounded by her own thoughts about Theo waiting in the living room and her accompanying her husband on the hack. Last time Rose had told her everything. All about the problems they had to face together. And just like that—there wasn't much of a response from Rose after she ended her long string of sentences. Theo was silent, but Rose was sure he had processed all the information well.
"Can you, Theo?" repeated Rose. Without specifying an answer she wanted to understand what Theo was thinking. Theo's silence was like ice until the atmosphere in the room changed. "Theo ...." "We can't predict what problems will happen in the future." "Yes, I'll try not to put you in any danger. But I can't promise." "I'm talking about you. Not me." To not put her in danger. Rose didn't think that was what she meant. "I know. I can take good care of myself." "But you didn't even dodge when I shot you." Rose parted the blanket between them. Her gaze fell to where she had fired hot lead at Theo. Already back to full skin, the scars were invisible—perhaps Travis had given them an elixir. Some of the wounds on Theo's body weren't as gruesome, except for the part where the shredded wound merged with a fold of flesh. "I didn't dodge, because I knew you weren't a danger to me." "It just looks that way, doesn't it? In fact, I put m