35

ALEXEI

I walked into the living room to see my mother, Alina seated on one of the couches with a distant look of her face while she watched television. She looked up to see me and gave me a smile.

"Good afternoon," I greeted her as she patted the space beside her for me to sit. "Hello, darling," she pulled me in a hug when I sat down. That was one thing about her. she loved hugs.

"I came to check on Blakely," I told her. "She had a big meal earlier so she's asleep upstairs," she said to me and I nodded. "Has she stopped crying?" I asked her. she chuckled sadly, "She cries for both of you at night but spends the rest of the day sleeping."

This made me sigh. I'm fucked.

Rose would kill me if she was here.

Rose.

I felt a pinch in my chest. "I heard Rosaline's elder brother flew here," mother said. I nodded, "He's helping the others with the situation." I couldn't even recognize my own voice again.

She hummed a sweet tone and placed her hand on my lap to make me look at her. "Who is Rose