For Rose it was an ambiguous sentence. She didn't understand the meaning of Theo's statement. "Why can't I ask questions? Why should I get an answer later?"
"Why don't we go home? Why do we have to wait until one night?" Protests and a barrage of questions began to come out of her head in sharp tones. A thousand times Theo silenced her. Rose would never stop. "I didn't ask for your credit card pin. Why is it so hard to answer?" "It's just easier to tell you a number. We have no right, Sugar. I know my father, he won't let us go easily." Theo's words unconsciously made Rose take a step back. "It turns out that everything that happened was because of your father? The person who called was also... your father?" At the time of the incident Rose thought Verasco was the mastermind of the painful times she had to go through. But she dismissed any bad thoughts-that a father wouldn't be so willing to put his chilThe firearm was already in Rose's grasp. Running away from her previous position had been a constant activity ever since she decided to leave Theo there. Rose was getting further and further away from the corner of the towering tree. Her steps continued to carry her through several branching paths. She desperately hoped Theo was still asleep so he wouldn't have a chance to smell her leaving. Slight chance... Rose smiled as she realized she was nearing the border of the vehicle traffic. She continued to paw at her feet before a strong and rough blow to the back of her neck stopped her ability to move. The instant, all-encompassing pain nearly froze Rose. She forced herself to turn around, to find a horde of strange men standing proudly... rippling with cruel smiles and a deep mysterious edge. "Where are you going again, beautiful?" Rose's gaze was unfocused. She wanted to dodge but the blow she
Rose vaguely noticed the leafy foliage waving in the night breeze. As Rose recalls, she was still sitting up before falling asleep waiting for Theo not to close his eyes. She had mistakenly assumed Theo would fall asleep more easily under the touch of her hand. The man had a steady vigilance. Leaving Rose trapped by her own plans and desires. "Nightmare?" Such a question made Rose's face turn away. A campfire was burning in front of Theo. The man appeared to be grilling a fish stuck on a tree trunk, sliced from tail to head. The aroma filled Rose's sense of smell. She hesitantly sat down and bent her legs beside Theo. Starting to think about the contents of the horrible dream, which felt so real. What if Rose's dream really happened? She couldn't imagine having to bleed with hot lead lodged in her body. It would be so painful, though Rose never knew... sometimes dreams can be a coincidence and pass as reality. Was that wh
Theo's sensual tone tickled Rose's sense of hearing. She was already trying to finish the remaining fish meat in her hand quickly. "What an impatient uncle! Even in the forest you can still be perverted," Rose grumbled. Theo chuckled almost out loud. They didn't realize they were being watched by a group of people. Some of them were ready to point various weapons. One of the others was some distance away, talking quietly to someone using a handy talkie. [You can only capture that bastard after paralyzing his consciousness.] The harsh sound of the device's waveform capture made the one person nod even though he was invisible. Then returned to catch up with the group at the hiding place. A small crossbow, the pointy end of which contained a quick-acting anesthetic, had been prepared. They waited for the right time to release it. "If I don't forget, you teased me yourself this morning."
"Tell your partner to stop hacking the coordinate points in that forest, Travis. Mr. T is still alive!" Lion spoke in an excited tone. His gaze was fully focused on the string of text messages from Verasco. He had confirmed it repeatedly, becoming even more certain when Verasco fully returned Anthony's divided troops to stand guard in two places. "Tricking me or what?" asked Travis. Never letting go of his focus in front of the monitor driven by a man, none other than his acquaintance. Coinciding with the activity. They lost their way, where the coordinates should still be lit up. "The old man has closed any access to it. Neither his group, nor us together can track anything. He himself will come to the lord after ordering Elijah to lead the search." If only Verasco was in front of him. Lion would not have been so bold as to give a nickname that would cost him his life. But he was never one to misrepres
"No, sir. Please don't do this. Theo-" Rose cried out violently. Turning to the side... at Theo who responded slightly. The look of ash was suddenly blank. Rose and Theo seemed to have the same instinct-the fetus in Rose's womb was in grave danger. The loud clatter of chains hitting the marble. Theo's rebellion was as useless as Graham slowly inserted one or two fingers into Rose's body, followed by three more. "Don't touch my wife, damn it!" Theo's angry words soared into the air. He insisted on jerking the chains in his hands with all his might. Rose's scream of pain was something that made Theo's whole being crack beyond repair. Graham had gone too far. The man's forearms were submerged, his fingers already reaching the cervix. It wasn't difficult for him to remove the fetus and placenta from Rose's womb. "Please stop... don't ...." The cries of pain from an expectant mother
Graham's lifeless body was thrown on the ground. Devastated, Theo found blood clot-like tissue, dark red and shiny under Rose's leg, which had been carried out when he pulled off Graham's arm. The tissue was shaped like a heart and there was a pouch with a pea-sized embryo inside. Theo looked closely and in detail ... devastated to see eyes, arms, and legs already formed. What father's heart doesn't break. He had just lost a child. What kind of human would do that to an innocent fetus? The previous statement was true. The culmination of Theo's regret... he felt it was wrong to have brought Rose into the encounter that ruined their lives. There was no more little being in Rose's womb. Their hopes were dashed, snatched away by the selfishness of one man. Seven months Theo and Rose should have waited, but reality told them otherwise. They failed with a sad ending. And what of Rose's inner pain? The poor woman was persecuted the most. The deep trauma would obviously affe
However, Theo did not get the slightest response. Instead, Verasco looked at his face. Instead, the middle-aged man ordered the person in the driving seat to speed up the car. Theo took action first. Lightning fast, not letting the distance get too far behind him. He had already reached the corner of the front of the car. Intentionally making his body hit until it rolled a few meters. The Rolls Royce came to an abrupt stop. Verasco got out with a curse and anger overflowing. "Your brain and mind are completely broken!" He stood proudly beside the car. Folding his arms across his chest with a glare that was about to shatter Theo's body into pieces. "I'm not willing to accommodate your whore," Verasco said dispassionately. "She's better off dead." Theo had to crawl to his feet. Keep thinking... it was wrong to ask for help from the trouble maker in his life. Theo's painful gait passed Verasco. He approached Rose and hugge
Theo stumbled into the large mansion. Almost everyone bowed in respectful disregard. Including Lion, he was silent as something was not right. He didn't dare to approach Theo any further, although the feeling of wanting to vent the chaos in his heart the past few days was unstoppable. Lion didn't know what kind of incident had jolted Theo until his body looked almost lifeless. Lion couldn't even find out where Rose was. He would call Travis to make sure. "Please get me a hoe." Lion's decision to reach for the cell phone was aborted. He took a quick glance at Theo's halting steps. Then hurried to the shed near the kitchen without interrupting. "Here, sir." Lion handed over the hoe with many questions raging in his head. The entire surface of Theo's arm was covered in dried blood. Lion could not define what the face looked like. Theo's look was horrifying. "What
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