"You can leave now."
Verasco's stern tone left a crease on the forehead of Theo, who could only stare at the monitor screen. Despite being out of reach of face-to-face meetings, Theo did not miss the opportunity to participate in the cooperative meeting by becoming a virtual member. Strangely, at the end of the closure he felt that Verasco had targeted him. Or Verasco should have been the first to leave the meeting room, but the man lingered. Fixing Theo's face with an unblinking gaze. "Long time no see, Son. You look happy." Theo's gray eyes were half squinted, taking in every gesture of the middle-aged man in front of him from the screen. He had never received such a warm greeting. Moreover, it was not Verasco's habit to simply comment on what he was feeling and what he was not. "Do I owe you something?" Theo answered with a question. "I don't like small talk. What do you want?" he continued. However, tThe night was getting late, which Rose expected would bring the man back. It shouldn't have taken long for Theo to leave in a fit of rage. 'He' should have been in Rose's presence, as was his habit of never letting go of his crazy antics. Yet, until the waves roared loudly. Roaring with an auditory tingling propagation. At no point did Theo show himself. Rose's breath came in rough gasps, staring at the translucent view through the glass wall. The sea water was a representation of Rose's feelings. Tossed around by the elements. Theo knew Rose was afraid of being alone in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the night. Even stepping into the small distance to close the curtains, she had to grip the edge of the bed tightly. Dark shadows seemed to haunt the inside of her head. Rose couldn't say anything about how badly she wanted to go looking for Theo. Unfortunately, her body was frozen. She didn't move. Unmoving. Just hoping that the door to the room would open to rev
Two suitcases were already neatly arranged. The last remained, containing Theo's clothes, after the first suitcase was filled with lingeri and the second, medium-sized, was neatly organized with the man's 'personal' interests - some in the form of firearms, the rest small, expensive-looking tools. However, Rose had no idea what they were and how they were used. She didn't try to find out. Didn't want to fill her head with things she couldn't possibly know. Theo was used to holding such weapons, what else did Rose need to ask, other than the fact that could not be denied. Theo was dangerous. And it was true. Rose's breath hitched. Occasionally looking back. Theo was still lost in a sleep that Rose couldn't tell. The night is a sea of unconsciousness, bringing back dreams - nightmares. The same name. The pain is not much different. Constantly calling out amongst the chaos and the violent rebellion of the body. Thankfully, Rose took control of the situation, bringing Th
Not everything can be clearly understood. Rose bit her lip, trying to break free from the ambiguous words, which were crushing the contents of her head. "It depends on the context," Rose replied thoughtfully. She watched in more detail the face that was becoming more and more still. Theo seemed about to speak up again. "I might not have minded that old fart's foolishness in the past. But it was different when I was about to have a little family. He knows my name, still calls me something else. Am I not that important? We're obviously different, why should he equate something that's right in front of him with something that's not." The disappointed tone didn't go unnoticed by Rose. She didn't know how to react. Theo should not have said his initial sentence with those words. "Old fart... it's very rude of you to call him that. He's still your father." Rose whispered softly. In fact, Theo still closed his eyes indifferent
"I got you." Rose pulled herself back after getting something, which rarely ended up as an opportunity for her. Making Theo the object of a picture. That was definitely an impossibility when Theo was in a state of alert. The 'kitty pa' T-shirt, which fit perfectly on the body, seemed to match the striking expression, which was unfortunately still so handsome. Rose's smile widened in satisfaction. Theo's face seemed to be filled with vengeance as he looked at her. "Delete the picture, Sugar!" "No. No, no, no. I didn't. In your dreams," Rose replied half-mockingly. She took a quick look at her phone. A rare picture of Theo, she didn't know where to put it. Rose wasn't sure it would last long if she left it buried in the gallery. Spreading it to one of her social media accounts might not be a bad idea. "Delete the photo!" A tone full of warning would not have been able to criticize Rose. Rat
"It's late, Sugar. Hurry up and go to bed." "Later," Rose said indifferently. In the midst of the dim bedroom light and the glow of her cell phone on her face. She wrote down the same email address and password repeatedly. The result was nil. Rose could not log back into her instag*am account after being automatically logged out, which was the first time she had experienced login problems. Rose sighed. In an instant, she was in a bad mood, just changing her body position. All she could do was sit pensively, regretting that the account had vanished into thin air. She had tried hard, but the reality before her made her feel sick. If Theo wasn't beside her, maybe Rose would have cried a little more about it. "What were you thinking, Sugar? Sleep!" There was no answer. Rose had no intention of replying or saying a single word. Her account could go back to normal, that's what she wanted. However, for thi
Milan, Italy. . . . It was a night of self-doubt for Rose as she stood next to a handsome man in a black tuxedo. The masculine scent became more and more pronounced as the large fingers touched the surface of her skin. Still overcome by tension, Rose could only steady herself staring straight ahead. The backless dress with small straps crossing the back gave a seductive impression, especially the beige color that seemed to blend with her white skin. The back of the seat began to warm up. Not knowing why Rose felt that the car Theo was driving was moving so slowly. Perhaps she was too haunted by fear, so waiting for the clock to turn seemed like something she shouldn't do. "Look at me, Sugar." Theo's words interrupted Rose's reverie. "Looks like your mind's not at ease." The man was still trying to bring Rose back to reality. Th
Rose found nothing else but shock in Theo's ash bead as the man directly heard his name being called by someone, who had been likening himself to a different man-Zever. However, it was only for a moment. The rest of the time Theo acted nonchalantly, as if Verasco's anger didn't matter. "I don't know what you're so upset about. But I was invited here for dinner. So let me and my wife enjoy the meal in front of us first." If only Theo could have made the other purpose of his visit clear in front of Rose. The woman beside Mr. Alejandro might not have looked at him so expectantly. Theo turned to Rose's side. "Are you okay, Sugar?" he asked softly. Knowing full well the effects of Verasco's earlier actions. Rose's face was pale. It was true. And when he touched Rose's fingers squeezing the thin fabric on the woman's own body. The warmth that was once there, became unexpectedly cold. One of Theo's eyebrows rose high. Verasco w
Rose's breath caught. But it wasn't that easy for Mr. Alejandro to take control. Theo didn't let it go completely, in fact one second that passed was the longest time the desert eagle in Mr. Alejandro's grasp threatened Rose's safety. Because at the same time Theo also rose to his feet, jerking the weapon in the old man's hand with incalculable speed. Not before Mr. Alejandro had pressed the trigger. The fruit of Theo's skill managed to pull out the extended magazine from the desert eagle algae, where the extra rounds were buried. "You let me get to close." Theo growled sarcastically. Mr. Alejandro's extended magazine was now in the grip of his hand. The aura he possessed changed considerably. His face was cold. Moreover, his glare was too deadly. "You can take your daughter away from here, or this thing will hurt her. Oh, don't dream that I'll become a part of you. It'll never work." All of Theo's insults, complete and total, stirred
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