“Rose, slowly… don’t try to move too much.”
Olivia instinctively reached out, wanting to stop Rose from sitting up, but despite her injuries, Rose somehow managed to push herself upright.
“Hey, you have back wounds,” Olivia reminded her with concern.
“It’s fine, Mother. I can’t feel them… just numb. Anesthesia, probably,” Rose said, forcing a small smile.
Olivia wanted nothing more than to pull her into a tight hug. But knowing her wounds could reopen, she hesitated.
“Are you alright? Any pain?”
“It’s alright, Mother. Nothing happened to me.”
Rose kept up her confident front, but her eyes they told a different story.
There was a weight behind them.
A hesitation.
She hadn’t once looked around the room.
Not even a glance.
Her gaze was locked only on Olivia, as if she was deliberately avoiding someone.
Lucian.
He was in this room, standing right there.
And she didn’t know how to face him.
—
5 Minutes ago
From the moment Olivia had burst into the room, yelling in panic, Rose had wanted to open her eyes, to show her mother she was fine.
She had wanted to.
But she couldn’t.
Because last night… Lucian had saved her.
And not just from anything he had saved her from something worse than death.
If he hadn’t come when he did…
She clenched the bedsheets beneath her fingers.
That thought alone sent a wave of terror through her.
She had been so close.
Too close.
The fear, the numb panic, the disgust she had felt when she was at the mercy of that man she never wanted to feel that again.
—
Her body trembled as flashes of last night replayed in her mind.
She couldn’t imagine what woulve happened if lucian hadn’t come last night at time
She was releived after seeing him
But
The things which happened later
The moment like when Lucian told her to close her eyes.
The screams.
The blood.
The sound of bodies collapsing one by one.
Even now, just remembering it sent shivers down her spine.
She had seen a glimpse of what Lucian was truly capable of.
But…
Doesn’t she already know?
She had always known.
From past kidnapping incident
Perhaps she was the only person in this world who truly knew his biggest secret.
The truth about who Lucian really is.
And now, she knew even more.
—
For a moment, she felt overwhelmed.
He had hidden this side of himself from her for so long.
But now?
Now, there was no going back.
She had seen it.
She had witnessed it.
She knew.
And maybe…
Maybe she was the only one.
—
And yet, it was alright.
Because she accepted him.
She wouldn’t hate him.
She wouldn’t fear him.
She wouldn’t push him away.
Not for this.
Not for what he did to protect her.
Because to her, Lucian was still Lucian.
She had no right to fear him.
Not after everything.
She still owed him too much.
And most of all she knew.
She knew who he was, deep inside.
Not the monster.
Not the bloodstained hands.
Not the ruthless, calculating mind.
To her, Lucian was still the one who had always protected her.
The one who was gentle.
The one who was there when no one else was.
She didn’t care what he was to others.
She only cared about who he was to her.
And to her Lucian was still Lucian.
—
But.
She knew one thing for certain.
Lucian never wanted her to know.
He never wanted her to see this part of him.
He had gone so far as to sealed her memories once before.
And now, he couldn’t.
Not this time.
Not when she had seen everything.
Not when it was too late.
She closed her eyes, taking a slow breath.
She didn’t know what to do now.
She had so many thoughts, so many emotions tangled together, making it impossible to think clearly.
All she knew was that she had to handle this carefully.
Because the last thing she wanted…
Was for Lucian to misunderstand.
To make him think she feared him.
To make him think she hated him.
think she would push him away.
Because she wouldn’t.
She would never.
But how could she make him understand that?
How could she tell him it’s okay?
How could she show him nothing has changed?
Can he try acting like nothing had happened
That was what she needed to figure out.
That was what mattered the most right now.
And she had to do it before he made a terrible decision.
Before he thought that leaving was his only option.
Before he believed he had no place in this family anymore.
With her anymore.
Because she wouldn’t let that happen.
No matter what.
Back then
While pretending to be unconscious, Rose heard everything.
Just minutes ago, Celestia and Mother had been questioning Lucian.
And just as she thought he was making everything up.
Somewhere in his words lay fragments of truth, but mixed within were fabrications, carefully crafted.
Lucian was trying to hide it.
So many things… the story he was weaving, the lies he was telling.
He really didn’t want anyone to know what had happened.
How far was he willing to go?
Lying still, she listened to every word. Even with her eyes closed, she could recognize the voices some familiar, some not each playing their part in supporting Lucian’s version of events.
Curiosity got the better of her. Carefully, she cracked open her eyes just a tiny fraction enough to see without anyone noticing.
He was trying so hard.
Hiding everything.
He was scared.
A part of her wanted to wake up immediately, to speak up. But she held back.
She didn’t want to disrupt him.
Whatever he wanted to do, she would help.
If he wanted to keep everything a secret, she wouldn’t expose him.
But if she had woken up too soon, she wouldn’t have learned anything. Worse, she might have made Mother even more suspicious of Lucian.
Then she heard it Celestia and Olivia’s doubts growing stronger, their questions sharpening.
There was no other choice.
She had to wake up.
——-
ahhhhhh this chapter was so hard to write like i didnt know how to write This one
like explaining rose emotions and feelings and stuff while everything going on I don’t know and fully forwarding towards the rose pov i don’t know
even shifts of fpp go tpp i don’t know whats happening but one of the hardest chapters to write i had to write it again and again