**Rosalie’s POV
“Do you know Soren?” I asked Ethan.
I should’ve asked this question much sooner, but I was very used to seeing Soren, so their similarity no longer bothered . And the past few days, I’d been so distracted that this question never ca to mind... until just now.
Ethan and Soren looked alike... was there any relationship between them, or was this purely coincidence?
He looked at , and his eyes filled with a mix of emotions.
Ethan finally replied, “I know him now.”
I looked at him in confusion, not quite understanding what he ant.
He smiled bitterly, and looked at with a heartbroken expression on his face. “He’s my rival in love..”
I had not expected that to be the answer, and was struck dumb for a mont.
Then, I felt my face beginning to heat up, and I heard myself trying to explain, “He... he’s a good friend of mine!”
Why did I feel the need to explain myself to him?!
Ethan visibly relaxed a bit, and the corner of his lips turned up slightly.
“I’m glad he was here to help you when you needed him,” he said.
I let out a deep breath, feeling relieved.
Soren never ntioned anything about his family, and I didn’t rember hearing about Ethan having brothers when I was back in the Drogomor pack. It was just that I had a strange feeling that I was missing sothing, so I wanted to be sure.
“What sort of trouble did you have when you got here?” Ethan asked. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about Soren any more.
Was he... jealous?
“I was... robbed. It was awful.”
Ethan was imdiately nervous. “Were you hurt? Are you okay now? And the baby?”
“Yes, we’re fine now,” I smiled. “Thanks to Sor... my friend, and the doctor he provided us with.”
Feeling uncomfortable talking about Soren after what Ethan had said, I stood up from the swing. “Really, Ethan, I need to go,” I said, walking towards my cottage.
“Rosalie!” His voice stopped in my tracks.
I turned and looked over my shoulder.
“The necklace,” he asked. “Was it stolen from you when you were attacked?”
Was Ethan trying to confirm whether I actually did sell the necklace?
I thought for a mont, and decided to be honest.
“No, it wasn’t taken,” I answered. “At first, I held onto that necklace because I wanted a piece of you with , Ethan. But the longer I was away from you, the more I realized I could do this on my own. So... I sold it, so that I could move on.”
He stared at for a mont, looking like he was trying to stop his emotions from showing on his face.
I felt I was justified in every word that I had said, but seeing him suffer still broke my heart, even after everything that happened.
I sighed and softened my tone. “I need to get back inside and get to bed. I’m tired. Goodbye, Ethan.”
“All right,” he replied with a sigh. “I’ll co back tomorrow. If the window’s open, I’ll wait for you to co out.”
“But if it’s closed... you should leave,” I said. My hands were on my abdon, like they usually were.
He nodded. “Good night, Rosalie.”
I didn’t respond– only waved and went back into the house.
Once I was alone, I tried to process everything that had happened recently.
I didn’t know if I should be happy that Ethan had finally shown up outside of my cottage again or if I should be furious at him for waiting three days to co back.
In those three days, I’d co to a decision. I was going to stay here and live my new life.
Why would he suddenly decide he had ti for again and start giving reasons to change that decision?
It shouldn’t have been that way. I should have just stayed secure in the decision I had made earlier that day.
After I got ready for bed, I lay there, uncomfortable because of the baby anyway. I stared at the ceiling with pillows shoved under my back and under my belly, trying to find a way to fall asleep... but thinking about Ethan.
Had he really apologized?
Alpha Ethan had said he was sorry– to – twice?
What kind of a world was I living in now?
Maybe he really had changed, and he deserved giving him a second chance.
Letting out a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and reminded myself of how kind Soren had been to . How in the world could I tell him that I was going back to the life I had left, the one that I had fled to co here? He’d be so disappointed in .
He wouldn’t be wrong to feel that way, either.
I had no hard proof that Ethan could actually change anything once we were back at the capital. Just because he said he wanted to be with and didn’t want to be with Madalynn, that didn’t an that he was going to be able to get out of what King Jas had in store for him.
These thoughts kept turning over in my mind, but eventually, I fell asleep.
***
The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual.
Seraphine and Lola were already there. We went about our morning routine, and then I went over to Soren’s house to check on things, like I always did, because that was my job.
I was still distracted, but I did my best to stay more focused than I had the last three day– during which I’d constantly dropped things, had stabbed myself with the sewing needle, and had made my companions worry.
After I finished my work in the mansion and went back to the cottage, Lola asked , “Are you going to prepare dinner for Mr. Soren, Miss Ro, or should I do it?”
“Oh,” I said, having temporarily forgotten he was coming back that afternoon. I had been thinking about it a lot the day before, but my mind had been on Ethan today, and I’d let it slip my mind.
“I’ll make sothing,” I told her. I liked to make dinner for Soren when he ca back from one of these longer trips.
“Yes, Miss,” Lola said. “Do you need any help?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I told her.
I gave her a small smile and started to go into the kitchen when I noticed that the window behind her was open. I stared at it for a mont, wondering if I wanted to leave it that way. I knew it was the window Ethan would be looking at to see if I wanted him to co back that evening. It was the one that overlooked the garden.
Without another thought, I went over and pushed the window closed.
That was that. I didn’t need to think about it anymore. I had made my decision.
I went about making a chicken dish I’d made for Soren before. I knew he really enjoyed it. It would be done about the ti he arrived, but it had to cook very slowly to keep all of the flavors in. I added all of the herbs and put it in the oven to cook.
But while I was preparing it, my mind kept going back to Ethan.
He had been so sincere the night before. At one point, I even thought I saw tears glistening in his eyes.
Really, all he was asking of was the opportunity to speak to . Was that so wrong? Wasn’t I being awfully cruel in not even giving him the chance to express himself?
After I popped the chicken into the oven, I found myself going back into the living room and opening the window– the sll of food was getting a bit strong, even though it slt good.
My eyes looked out over the garden. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still up. So I didn’t expect him to show himself.
I just wanted a glimpse of him– another quick taste.
I didn’t see him, though, so I went back into the kitchen.
I decided to make a pie. It could bake at the sa temperature as the chicken and for the sa amount of ti. I had all of the ingredients for a fresh apple pie, sothing I’d never made for Soren before.
I made the crust, rolling the dough out with the rolling pin, which was tiring.
As I rolled, I thought, “You’re being stupid, Rosalie. You’re just inviting trouble back into your life. Think about all of the good tis you’ve had here since you left Ethan behind. Soren has taken good care of you. He’s provided you with everything you could possibly ever need. If you let Ethan back into your life, you’re going to regret it.”
I put the pie crust in the pan and headed into the living room to close the window.
“Is everything all right, Miss Ro?” Lola asked .
“Yes, everything’s fine,” I said, pausing on my way back to the kitchen to look at her.
“Well, you keep opening and closing the window. I just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong.” Lola shrugged and went back to dusting, but she was looking at .
“Oh, uh, I just... I’m baking a pie. So... it’s getting a little warm in here,” I said as I headed back into the kitchen.
“Then shouldn’t you have just opened the window?” she called after , but I just kept walking because I didn’t really have a response for that.
All I wanted to do was tell her to leave it closed.
After I finished making the pie and slid it into the oven, I realized I was exhausted. The last few nights, I had not slept well, thanks to Ethan and his gas.
It was almost as if he was practicing playing peek-a-boo when the baby arrived. Would he show up, or wouldn’t he?
Well, now that the window was closed, I wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.
I decided to lie down and take a nap for a little while. However, I found that I couldn’t fall asleep at all.
As I was tossing and turning, I heard Seraphine say to Lola, “It’s so hot and stuffy in here with the oven on. I’m just going to open this window for a bit...”
Did she open the window? I wasn’t sure if it was real or I dread it.
However, I felt too tired to get up and check– so I stayed in bed, and finally was able to fall asleep.
When I got up a bit later to the sound of the kitchen tir going off, the window was closed, and everyone was gone. I got the food out of the oven and hurried to get ready for Soren to co over for dinner.
I was confused whether Seraphine had actually stopped by, and was frustrated with myself that I couldn’t make up my mind.
However, it didn’t matter. I told myself that if Ethan had co by while I was sleeping and that window was open... he might be expecting in the garden that night.
He’d be disappointed.
I wasn’t going.
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