All Chapters of Roses Rising Above the Thorns: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Stell, I've agreed to return home for the arranged marriage."Freya Jefferson's calm voice carried clearly through the stillness of the night.On the other end of the call, Stellan Jefferson finally let out a sigh of relief. "You've finally decided to leave that boyfriend of yours? After all these years together, he wouldn't even agree to come home and meet me or our parents. I've known for a while that it wouldn't work out."Hearing her brother's confident tone, Freya lowered her gaze and murmured softly in agreement. "I was wrong before. I'll settle everything here as soon as possible. Please handle the wedding arrangements. Just give me two weeks.""Don't worry about the wedding; we'll take care of all the preparations. You just need to come back on time. This guy is someone Mom, Dad, and I carefully chose for you. He's perfect in every way: background, personality, and looks. I'm sure you'll be satisfied."By the way, since you're coming back to get married, make sure to invi

That was because he had something more important going on.Freya closed the half-watched movie on her laptop and clicked on the ever-persistent WhatsApp pop-up in the corner.It was Kenneth, chatting with Charlotte.Kenneth wasn't aware that his WhatsApp was synced to her laptop, allowing her to see all his messages.Freya watched as the two reminisced, discussed the present, and even talked about their future together.In the countless lines of messages, Kenneth didn't mention Freya even once.Of course, why would he? To him, she was nothing more than a placeholder, a fleeting but of comfort. There was no reason to bring her up.Freya stared at the endless stream of messages still updating in real time. Then, without hesitation, she pressed the power button to shut the laptop off.It was a sleepless night for her.The next morning, Freya was awakened by the sound of the doorbell.Rubbing her eyes, she walked into the living room, only to see Kenneth, already awake, turning a

Hearing the sound, the people at the sink turned around.When Charlotte saw Freya, she froze for a moment before forcing a smile. "Frey? What are you doing here? You didn't hear what we just said, did you?"Freya glanced at her and walked slowly to the sink. "I heard everything," she calmly replied.Charlotte hadn't expected her to admit it so directly. Her face turned pale.Her friends, sensing something was wrong, exchanged glances and were about to step in to back Charlotte up.However, Freya turned on the faucet, cutting them off before they could speak. "Those who manipulate true feelings will never receive true love."That single sentence left Charlotte speechless. Her dissatisfied gaze landed on the distinctive mole near Freya's eye. Suddenly, she seemed to let go of her pretense, smirking with derision."You are just a stand-in. You never even had Kenneth's love. What right do you have to talk to me about true feelings?""Exactly. Look at you, left behind in this godfor

By the time Freya and Wayne arrived at the scene, it was already too late.A group of Kenneth's friends stood anxiously in front of a large screen showing the live feed of the race. Their expressions were grim."It's too late! They're already on the course. If something happens, how are we supposed to explain this to Mr. Deakin?""Don't jinx it, for goodness sake!""I knew it. Kenneth loses his mind whenever Charlotte is involved. Not even ten horses could hold him back! It used to be just brawls and maybe some disciplinary actions. But now he's betting his life? He's completely lost it!"Hearing these complaints, Wayne, who was still catching his breath, nudged the group with his elbow.Everyone fell silent immediately when they noticed Freya standing behind them.20 minutes later, the rumble of engines echoed in the distance, growing louder with each passing second.Freya fixed her gaze on the screen, where two cars were locked in a neck-and-neck race. Her frown deepened as s

Freya couldn't believe Kenneth was actually asking her, the one who'd been wronged, to apologize to Charlotte, the one who'd done this all.Her heart felt like it was breaking. She shook her head firmly. "I'm not the one in the wrong. I'm not apologizing for anything!"Freya wasn't about to apologize and Kenneth wasn't letting up. Neither was giving in.Terrified that waiting any longer might give her away, Charlotte looked up through her tears and tugged at Kenneth's arm to get him to leave."Ken, let me take the blame. Please stop arguing with your girlfriend. Can we just calm down for a minute?"But Kenneth wasn't budging.Running out of options, Charlotte braced herself and forcefully twisted her left ankle.Panic and worry instantly took over Kenneth's face when he saw she was hurt. Ignoring Freya, he scooped Charlotte up and hurried downstairs.Watching them fade into the distance, Freya's anger slowly gave way to a crushing wave of heartbreak and sadness.The tears she'