The 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
"Is he asleep?" muttered Rose as she entered the room, only to find Zever curled up on his side of the bed. Carefully Rose padded then crawled slowly upstairs. Approaching her husband who was either asleep or not. As Rose remembered Zever wearing thick and long clothes, her forehead knitted in wonder as the blanket was realized to be wrapped almost completely around the man's body. Rose also positioned herself sideways with one arm for support. Gradually her fingers reached out to touch Zever's forehead to make sure the man beside her was at a normal temperature. And it seemed that Zever was indeed fine, or Rose should have made sure that the man was shirtless. It wasn't Theo's habit to sleep without a single thread covering his upper body. Rose's short sigh brought the thick fabric halfway down Zever's legs. Her husband's clothes were intact. Perhaps it was one of Theo's contradictory forms. Rose really had to hold herself still. Her attention was suddenl
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