**Rosalie’s POV
There were a million things on my mind. The last thing that I needed was for my child to be trapped between two warring brothers.
When I finally lied down, I found myself restless. I saw myself being pulled and tugged in two different directions until I was ripped apart.
Who was the winner in this instance?
I don’t know—but it certainly wasn’t .
I was so exhausted and eventually was able to sink into darkness.
Not sure how long it had been, finally, I woke up.
At first, I was confused about where I was.
I wasn’t in the cottage that I had been in for the last several months. Sunshine stread in through unfamiliar curtains, and I rembered.
I rembered the new house. I rembered the new betrayal.
However, after getting so rest, my head was clear– regardless of the situation, I could not continue to stay with Soren long term.
Ethan knew I was here, and he may co back for , so I couldn’t bring more trouble for Soren.
Moreso, as much as I wanted to trust Soren and still treat him as a friend, as much as I hoped it wasn’t the case, but what if...he was a foe?
I needed to do what was best for my child.
I took a deep breath and pulled myself out from the bed.
First thing first, I had to get so energy into my body.
“Oh, good morning, Miss Ro,” Lola greeted from the kitchen. “Can I get you sothing to eat?”
“Thank you,” I told her. I didn’t have a huge appetite, but I still picked up so fruit and bread. “How’s Soren doing?”
“Mr. Soren has been awake and I’ve brought him food. He had asked us not to wake you up, so that you could get as much rest as possible after a long night,” Lola stated. “However, I’m sure he’d be very happy to see you now that you’re awake.”
“Thank you Lola,” I said to my friend, “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done.”
On the short walk to Soren’s room, I thought about how I should act around him going forward.
I would like to believe that Soren was a wonderful person and a very kind man, and I would need to treat him the sa way as I used to.
He had just finished eating and was putting his empty bowl of oatal aside.
“Soren,” I said, gently smiling at him. “You look so much better.”
“Better than what, a corpse?”
His sense of humor didn’t seem to change a bit. I smiled, “Well, yes. But I ant better than you did last night.”
He patted the side of the bed where I’d been sitting the night before. I went over and placed a comfortable distance between us, focusing my face towards him.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” I stated plainly, rubbing my belly like I did most of the ti. “Tired. But that’s the usual.”
He nodded. “You know, I was just thinking, you can’t co back to the cottage because of the pollen, but I’m worried you won’t be safe here. I’ll have to leave so guards here to protect you. I have to make sure that Ethan can’t ever hurt you again.”
He rubbed my arm reassuringly and asked, “Also, may I stay here until I recover?”
“Of course!” I nodded, and I understood why he made this request, “It’s better that you don’t have to split the guards into two groups.”
He smiled, “How could soone be as beautiful and smart as you? It’s just not fair.”
I shook my head. “Soren, thank you for protecting , I appreciate it.”
He seed to be relaxed and happy with my gratitude. I looked at him and couldn’t help but ask, “I know that you’d never ever let anything bad happen to or the baby, right?”
“Of course, Ro!” He smiled at cheerfully.
I felt guilty. Soren seed to be his usual self, and yet, I was suspecting him. Was I too sensitive?
***
Later that day, Soren was feeling strong enough to get out of bed. His n helped him walk to the living room. As soon as he sat down in a chair, he sort of sank into it, like it had taken all of the energy he’d gathered in the last several hours to take those few steps from one room to the next.
Perhaps he was more severely wounded than I realized.
But then, the night before, he’d stood up and hugged .
Was he putting on an act?
Soren looked older than I’d ever seen him, more tired and weary.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked him.
I moved to a chair closer to him and sat on the edge so that I could reach his hand, and the apprehension I’d been feeling all day about having to pretend that I wasn’t suspicious of him faded away.
Even if I wasn’t sure what his motives were at the mont, this man had always shown kindness. Now he was hurting, so how could I not show him the sa attention he had always shown to when I was in a similar state?
His hand was warm as he squeezed mine back. He shook his head and adjusted the blanket he had draped over his lap. “No, thank you,” he spoke gratefully. “I feel so... pathetic.”
“Don’t feel that way,” I told him. “I know you are used to being the strong one who takes care of everyone around you, and that’s who you still are inside. You’ll be back on your feet again in no ti at all. But if you don’t take it easy now, you’ll end up making your condition worse, and then you’ll have to start all over, and you don’t want that, do you?”
“No, I definitely don’t want that,” he shook his head and smiled at , “Ro, you are really good at persuading people.”
I returned the smile. “I’ll go get you so water and so crackers in case you get hungry. That should settle your stomach.” I gave his hand another gentle squeeze and then went into the kitchen.
Lola was in the middle of cleaning and she smirked at in a way that made think she was trying to imply sothing.
It wasn’t the first ti she had given that look over the last few months. She and Seraphine were always teasing about having romantic feelings for Soren.
Ordinarily, I would brush it off and tell them they were just being silly and there was nothing going on between us. However, today, I was too tired to explain. Lola giggled at my silence.
When I brought the water and crackers back to Soren, he was so thankful, it was as if no one had ever brought him anything before. “You’re so kind, Ro, I appreciate it so much.”
“Really, it’s no trouble,” I told him, “I’ll be around, so just let know if you need anything.”
As much as I wanted to act the sa as in the past, I realized that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. After offering my service, I almost felt like I was fleeing away from the room.
“Actually, I would love it if you could play a song,” he coaxed before I could leave, his eyes trailing to the piano across the room.
The piano. It had co with us. The day before, I had been imagining myself playing the songs I used to play for Ethan, visualizing his face if he heard play them again.
Now, I would be playing for Soren, and Ethan was...only the Moon Goddess knew where.
“Of course, I’ll play you a song,” I told Soren, pulling my thoughts out of the past again. It didn’t matter what I had dread. This was my reality.
I crossed the room and sat down at the piano, noticing just how many of Soren’s soldiers were standing around outside. It was as if we were at war right that mont, and the entire army was stationed here. But then, this house wasn’t as easy to protect as Soren’s mansion. It didn’t have the sa kind of barriers.
My fingers sat over the keys for a few monts as I decided what to play. I settled on a nice slow, quiet song that I thought would be soothing to Soren and let my fingers run over the keys for a few monts before I decided to start singing along.
Drawing my eyes back inside, I looked at Soren. He had a satisfied expression on his face, his head tipped back, his eyelids closed, and a smile on his face. He seed like he was at peace and had everything he wanted in life.
I wondered if that was the case. Was this all he wanted—his island, all of these properties, enough money to enjoy a good life, and that was it?
However, if that was the case, why would he beco Ethan’s target? What role did he play in the war?
I hadn’t been singing long when Thomas ca in the front door. He took one look at Soren and stopped in his tracks. I continued to sing and play, but my eyes didn’t leave Soren’s assistant.
Thomas didn’t wake Soren. Instead, he turned around to walk back outside, thinking better of disturbing his boss when he was sleeping.
One of the guards ca in the door as Thomas was going out. They were about twenty paces away from , and at first I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
However, as they continued to speak to each other about whether or not what was going on was important enough to wake Soren over, I caught enough words to ascertain what the situation was.
They hadn’t been able to find Ethan.
“Checked the tunnels?” Thomas was asking.
“Yes,” the other man said, slightly irritated. “Several tis.” I heard him say, “Blood, but no sight of him.”
My heart skipped a beat as I thought about Ethan being injured, but then I rembered that I shouldn’t care if Ethan was injured severely enough to be leaving a trail of blood.
That should make happy—to know he was getting a taste of his own dicine.
“Keep searching,” Thomas ordered. “When the boss wakes up, we’ll see what else he wants us to do.”
For the next hour or so, I played the piano and sang for Soren, trying to change the vision I’d had in my mind of what my life would be like. It was a drastic change from what I’d been imagining the day before with Ethan in the scene.
I’d also decided, at the mont, it was in my best interest for Soren to still treat as his friend like in the old days.
It was the best way for to protect my baby.
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