**Rosalie’s POV
My necklace was beautiful, I couldn’t help but stand and stare at it in the mirror. While I’d every reason in the world to pawn it the way that I had and try to get Ethan out of my life forever– after the confession he had made to the night before, I knew the necklace was back where it belonged.
The only problem was, I couldn’t let anyone else see it.
Seraphine had been there when I’d pawned it, so she’d want to know how it had curiously gotten back around my neck, and Lola had probably found out that I’d sold it as well. If I tried to lie to them and tell them I’d gone back and bought it back, they wouldn’t believe .
So... I’d have to hide it.
But for now... I could stand here and admire its beauty and think about the handso man who had given it to – again.
I still couldn’t believe all of the things that Ethan had said to the night before in the garden, how he’d poured his soul out to and told how he’d felt when I’d left.
How he’d talked about his pain, and how he’d told that he’d thought he’d never be capable of feeling anything again until he’d t .
He’d said that he loved ....
“I believe she’s in her room,” I heard Lola say, and I realized that the other set of footsteps I heard echoing in the hallway belonged to Soren.
Quickly, I took my necklace off. As much as I wanted to keep it on always, as I used to, I couldn’t take the risk.
Once it was off, I slid it into the top drawer of my dresser under so clothing and pretended to be brushing my hair.
“There she is, my beautiful flower,” he said, extending a bouquet of pale yellow jasmine to .
“Oh, those are so lovely!” I said, the scent of the flowers filling the room. “Thank you!”
I t him halfway across the room, and he kissed my cheek as I wrapped one arm around him and took the flowers with the other.
It seed a bit strange hugging Soren now. Not that I’d ever considered him anything more than a friend, but with Ethan back in my life, hugging him seed... misleading.
It just felt wrong.
When Soren gave a kiss on my face– which I was used to and which he probably didn’t an as anything more than a kiss for a dear friend– I just felt like I was doing sothing wrong to Ethan.
“I’ll just take these into the other room to put them in a vase,” I said, and he followed .
I noticed that the window in the living room was open, and it made smile.
“You look so beautiful today,” he said. “There’s sothing... different about you.”
“Thank you,” I replied as I reached the kitchen and opened a cabinet to get a vase out. “I got a lot of sleep last night.”
I wasn’t lying. I had actually gotten much better sleep for the first ti in days. Thinking about Ethan and wondering when I might see him again made feel happy and safe.
I found a spot for the flowers near the kitchen window. I had been keeping all of the flowers that Ethan gave hidden in my room because I didn’t want anyone else to see them and realize they didn’t co from here.
“What are your plans for the day?” he asked .
We talked about how I was hoping to finish the blanket I’d been working on, get so crocheting done, and maybe work in the garden. He said that he had a few etings and phone calls he had to make. It all sounded painfully boring to , but I knew he had so much responsibility as the leader of the island.
We moved into the living room and sat down.
“It sounds like you have a lot to do,” I comnted as Lola brought us so lemonade.
“I do,” he said with a sigh. “I can’t stay long, but I wanted to co and see you.”
I noticed he had bags beneath his eyes, and his clothing was wrinkled a bit and not as well-pressed as it usually was. It was odd for Soren to ever look out of sorts and not completely put together.
I was beginning to feel a bit worried about him.
“Are you all right?” I asked him, my brow furrowing as I studied him more carefully. “Have you been sleeping enough?”
He chuckled under his breath. “Funny you should ask about how I’ve been sleeping," he murmured.
Confused, I asked, “What’s that?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Never mind.”
But I really wanted to know. “Why wouldn’t I ask about how you’ve been sleeping, Soren? I’m concerned about you. Ever since that first day I arrived here– when I got beaten up and you found – you’ve treated with nothing but kindness. I’m worried that you’re not feeling well.”
“I’m feeling fine, Ro, thank you. Believe , you don’t need to worry about . I’ve been sleeping well. There’s just a lot going on with the business right now. That’s all.”
His eyes t mine. “And of course I was going to take care of you. We’ve been over this.”
“I know,” I said, not wanting to hash it all out again. “It’s just...”
“It’s nothing, Ro,” he said, waving his hand to brush off as he took a drink of his lemonade.
“It’s just, you’re like a family to now, and I also feel the need to take care of you,” I finished.
He turned to look at , but his gaze made a bit uneasy.
In a rush, I tried to explain, “you know, like a brother...”
He sputtered, the lemonade coming back up a bit as he choked.
I tried to get up off of the couch and go to him to help him, but being so pregnant and having sunk into the cushions, I couldn’t quite get up.
Lola got there first. “Are you all right, Mr. Soren?” she asked.
By then, Soren had coughed a few tis but had regained his composure. He put his glass down.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he said. “I just... choked on an ice cube.”
I wondered if it was sothing I had said that had gotten that reaction out of him.
Should I have not told him he was like a brother to ? Did he not appreciate that? I had ant it to be a kind remark.
It wasn’t as if he had ever given any reason to believe that he wanted sothing more from our relationship. If he had ever thought about wanting more from , he had hidden it very well.
“Well, I should probably get back ho,” Soren said, pushing up from the chair. “I have a eting soon, and I need to go over my notes.”
“Oh, okay,” I said.
I hoped I hadn’t offended him, but I couldn’t take it back now, and going back and trying to apologize would seem odd.
It took a mont to pull myself up off of the couch to walk him out. “It’s too bad you couldn’t stay longer.”
“I know,” Soren said as we walked toward the door. “But... there’s so much for to do.”
He didn’t sound like that was really the case. He sounded like he was making excuses.
“Will you be back for dinner?” I asked him.
“Uh... I don’t know,” he said. “Probably not. You know, there’s just... so much to do.”
“Right,” I said, shaking my head.
I had ssed up.
I needed to be more careful about what I said. Soren had been so kind to , and until I figured out exactly what Ethan had planned for , I didn’t want to make him mad.
Soren pulled the door open, but before he turned to tell goodbye, his nose wrinkled up, and he made an awful face.
“What the h*ll is that sll?” he asked.
He hardly ever cursed in front of , so I knew that it really had to be bothering him. And I knew what he was talking about, even though I couldn’t sll it.
Not that I was going to provide an answer for him.
“That skunky sll is awful,” he continued, sniffing the air. “It reminds of sothing I slled in a dream.”
“In a dream?” I repeated. “What are you talking about?”
Soren stood there for a mont with the door still open, but he didn’t answer my question. He only peered off in the distance with his hands buried deep in his pockets.
“Listen, Ro, there’s a lot going on right now in the world. The war is heating up, and it’s not safe. I want you to stay inside– especially at night. All right?”
It wasn’t all right. I didn’t agree with what he was saying at all.
But I couldn’t tell him that, so I found myself saying, “Okay.”
“And I’ll be sending over another detail of guards to make sure you’re safe.”
My eyes bulged. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Soren. I’ll be just fine with the n that I have.”
“I insist, Ro. Your safety and the safety of the baby are extrely important to . I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”
I took a deep breath and nodded, knowing there was nothing I could do to dissuade him. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later.”
I told him goodbye and closed the door, leaning against it for a mont.
It was already difficult enough for to see Ethan with just the few guards I had. Now, there were going to be even more out there for us to avoid.
How would Ethan be able to get in?
I didn’t know, but there was no way for to get a ssage to him... unless....
I went over to the living room and closed the window.
I wasn’t if it would work or not, but I had to do whatever I could to try and prevent Ethan from showing up and getting himself in trouble.
Not to ntion, I had clearly hurt Soren with my careless remark.
He had been nothing but kind to .
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