Chapter 2
2233 Words
Rosalina had barely made it through the gates of the estate before she felt like she could breathe again.
She glanced over her shoulder.
The mansion stood behind her, enormous and silent beneath the pale morning sky.
Several figures were visible through the tall windows.
Her mother.
Her father.
Her siblings.
And her husband.
They were all watching her.
Rosalina stopped walking.
For a moment, she simply stared.
Nobody waved.
Nobody moved.
They just stood there.
Watching.
A strange chill crawled down her spine.
She slowly turned around and continued toward the waiting car.
They’re being weird.
That was the only explanation she could come up with.
Yesterday, her mother had barely spoken to her.
Her father had spent most meals buried in paperwork.
Her siblings had treated her like an inconvenience.
And her husband…
Rosalina’s expression tightened.
Her husband had barely looked at her for weeks.
Now suddenly everyone wanted to know if she had slept well.
Everyone wanted to touch her.
Everyone wanted to sit beside her.
Everyone wanted to know where she was going.
It was too much.
The car door opened.
Her driver stepped aside.
“Miss Rosalina.”
“Thank you.”
She entered the car and closed the door.
The moment the door shut, she leaned against the seat.
Silence.
Finally.
She pulled out her phone.
There were already seven messages.
Her eyebrows lifted.
Mother: Have you arrived safely?
Another message appeared.
Mother: Please tell me when you get there.
Then another.
Brother: Don’t skip lunch.
Another.
Sister: Take your coat. It’s colder than it looks.
Rosalina stared at the screen.
Then came her husband’s message.
Adrian: Text me when you arrive.
She frowned.
She typed.
Rosalina: I’m only going shopping.
Three dots appeared immediately.
Then disappeared.
Appeared again.
Disappeared.
Finally:
Adrian: I know.
Rosalina’s eyebrows furrowed.
Then another message appeared.
Adrian: I just want to know you’re safe.
She didn’t answer.
A minute later:
Adrian: Please.
Rosalina locked her phone.
“Unbelievable.”
The driver glanced at her through the mirror.
“Is everything all right, Miss?”
“Yes.”
She paused.
“…I think.”
The driver wisely said nothing.
⸻
The shopping district was crowded.
Rosalina stepped out of the car and immediately felt better.
People walked past her without staring.
Nobody asked if she was comfortable.
Nobody asked if she had eaten.
Nobody watched her like she might disappear if they looked away.
Normal.
She smiled faintly.
“This is better.”
She entered her favorite bookstore.
The familiar smell of paper greeted her.
For the first time that morning, her shoulders relaxed.
She wandered between the shelves, picking up novels and flipping through their pages.
Eventually, she found a fantasy novel she’d been wanting.
She smiled.
“Finally.”
She tucked it beneath her arm.
Then she heard footsteps.
Rosalina turned.
Her smile disappeared.
“Brother?”
Her older brother stood at the end of the aisle.
He was wearing the same immaculate suit he’d worn that morning.
Rosalina stared at him.
“…What are you doing here?”
He smiled.
“I had business nearby.”
“Nearby?”
“Yes.”
She looked around.
The bookstore was nowhere near his office.
Her brother walked toward her.
“I thought I’d check on you.”
Rosalina tightened her grip on the book.
“You followed me?”
His smile disappeared.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Rosalina narrowed her eyes.
“Then how did you know I was here?”
Silence.
Her brother looked at the book in her hands.
“You used to like this author.”
Rosalina blinked.
“I still do.”
“I know.”
Something about the way he said it made her uncomfortable.
Her brother reached toward the book.
Rosalina instinctively pulled it closer.
He stopped.
His hand remained suspended in the air for a second.
Then he slowly lowered it.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For startling you.”
Rosalina studied him.
Her brother had apologized.
Her brother.
The same brother who had once told her she was too sensitive whenever his words hurt her.
Now he looked genuinely upset because she had flinched.
“You’re acting strange.”
“I know.”
He smiled sadly.
“I’m trying to do better.”
Rosalina didn’t know what to say.
Her brother’s eyes lingered on her face.
Too long.
“You look tired.”
“I’m fine.”
“You always say that.”
Rosalina frowned.
“What?”
He immediately looked away.
“Nothing.”
⸻
They walked through the bookstore together.
At least, her brother insisted on walking with her.
Every time Rosalina stopped, he stopped.
Every time she moved, he moved.
When she reached for a book on a high shelf, he grabbed it before she could.
When she carried more than two books, he took them.
When she mentioned being hungry, he immediately suggested three restaurants.
Rosalina finally stopped.
“Why are you doing all this?”
Her brother looked at her.
“Doing what?”
“This.”
She gestured between them.
“Following me around. Carrying everything. Asking if I’m hungry every five minutes.”
His expression softened.
“I care about you.”
Rosalina stared at him.
“You never used to.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
His face went completely still.
For a moment, something painful flashed across his eyes.
Then he smiled.
“I should have.”
Rosalina’s chest tightened.
That answer hurt more than she expected.
Her brother looked away.
“You deserved better.”
She didn’t understand.
Why were they suddenly talking like this?
Why did everyone seem to regret things she hadn’t even asked them to apologize for?
“Did something happen?”
He looked at her.
“No.”
“Then why—”
“Because I realized something.”
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“That I was wasting time.”
Rosalina frowned.
“What does that mean?”
His hand slowly lifted.
He hesitated before gently touching the top of her head.
Rosalina froze.
Her brother smiled.
“I missed doing this.”
She stepped backward.
His hand dropped.
“Sorry.”
Again.
That word.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Sorry.
Everyone kept apologizing.
But nobody would explain why.
⸻
By the time Rosalina returned to the mansion, the sun was beginning to set.
She expected things to have returned to normal.
They hadn’t.
The moment she entered the foyer, her mother appeared.
“You’re home.”
Rosalina nodded.
“Yes.”
Her mother crossed the room quickly.
Too quickly.
She stopped inches away from her.
“You’re late.”
Rosalina glanced at the clock.
“I’m not.”
“I know.”
Her mother swallowed.
“I just…”
She reached for Rosalina’s hand.
Rosalina let her take it.
Her mother’s fingers trembled.
“I was worried.”
“You knew where I was.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you worried?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
Instead, she pulled Rosalina into a hug.
A tight one.
Almost desperate.
Rosalina’s arms remained at her sides.
Her mother’s voice was muffled against her hair.
“Don’t disappear.”
Rosalina stiffened.
“What?”
Her mother immediately released her.
“Nothing.”
There it was again.
Nothing.
Everyone kept saying nothing.
Rosalina looked toward the staircase.
Her father stood there.
Watching.
Her sister stood behind him.
Watching.
Her brother was leaning against the wall.
Watching.
And at the top of the stairs…
Adrian.
Her husband.
His eyes were fixed on her.
Rosalina suddenly felt surrounded.
She took one step backward.
Every person in the foyer noticed.
Her husband immediately descended the stairs.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“No.”
“You looked frightened.”
“I’m not frightened.”
Adrian stopped in front of her.
His expression was gentle.
Almost painfully gentle.
“Then what are you feeling?”
Rosalina looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
His jaw tightened.
For half a second, his expression cracked.
Then he smiled.
“That’s all right.”
He reached for her hand.
Rosalina hesitated.
He noticed.
His hand stopped before touching hers.
“I won’t force you.”
Something about that made her feel worse.
Because the old Adrian would never have cared whether she wanted him near her.
Now he was standing there like her permission meant everything.
Rosalina slowly placed her hand in his.
His fingers closed around hers.
Carefully.
As though she were fragile.
“Did you eat?”
“Yes.”
“What did you have?”
“Lunch.”
“What?”
She blinked.
“Why does it matter?”
“Because I want to know.”
His eyes remained on hers.
“Everything about you matters to me.”
Rosalina’s heart skipped.
Not because she was touched.
Because she was unsettled.
“Adrian…”
“Yes?”
“You’re scaring me.”
His fingers immediately loosened.
The entire foyer became silent.
Adrian’s face went pale.
“I’m sorry.”
He released her.
Rosalina stared at him.
He looked devastated.
Not angry.
Not offended.
Devastated.
As though those four words had cut him open.
“I’m going upstairs,” she whispered.
“Of course.”
She walked away.
Nobody stopped her.
But she could feel their eyes following her all the way up the stairs.
⸻
Inside her bedroom, Rosalina locked the door.
She leaned against it.
Her heart was beating too quickly.
“What is happening?”
She walked toward the mirror.
She looked normal.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same life.
Nothing had changed.
Except them.
She sat on the edge of her bed.
Her phone buzzed.
She looked down.
Adrian: I’m sorry.
Another message.
Adrian: I didn’t mean to frighten you.
Another.
Adrian: You don’t have to answer.
Then:
Adrian: Just sleep well.
Rosalina stared at the messages.
She didn’t respond.
Outside her bedroom door, footsteps stopped.
She looked toward it.
Silence.
Then a soft knock.
“Rosalina?”
Adrian.
She didn’t answer.
“I’m not coming inside.”
Silence.
“I just wanted to tell you goodnight.”
Rosalina hugged her knees.
“Goodnight.”
There was a pause.
Then:
“Goodnight, my love.”
His footsteps slowly disappeared.
Rosalina waited.
One minute.
Two.
Five.
She finally relaxed.
Then she heard another sound.
Footsteps.
Someone else had stopped outside her door.
Rosalina sat upright.
“…Who’s there?”
No answer.
Her heart pounded.
She approached the door.
She placed her hand against it.
“Mom?”
Nothing.
“Father?”
Silence.
She opened the door.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor sat a small box.
Rosalina picked it up.
Inside was a bracelet.
A beautiful silver bracelet with a tiny lavender flower.
Beneath it was a note.
Only four words.
For when you’re lonely.
Rosalina stared at it.
Her fingers trembled.
She looked down the hallway.
Nobody was there.
Yet somehow…
She knew someone had been standing outside her door.
Watching.
Waiting.
Caring.
And for the first time, Rosalina wondered whether their sudden affection wasn’t simply kindness.
Maybe it was something else.
Something she couldn’t understand.
Something they weren’t telling her.
⸻
Downstairs, the family sat together in silence.
Nobody touched their dinner.
Her mother stared toward the staircase.
“She was frightened.”
“I know,” Adrian said.
His voice was quiet.
His hands were clenched beneath the table.
Her father looked at him.
“You need to slow down.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
“I know.”
“You nearly frightened her.”
“I know.”
His mother whispered,
“We cannot make the same mistakes.”
Nobody answered.
Because they all remembered.
They remembered the woman they had ignored.
The woman they had pushed away.
The woman whose empty room had become a permanent reminder of everything they had done wrong.
They remembered begging for another chance.
And somehow…
They had received one.
But Rosalina hadn’t.
She was still the same Rosalina.
She didn’t remember.
She didn’t know.
She didn’t understand why everyone suddenly loved her.
And they intended to keep it that way.
Her father looked toward the stairs.
“We cannot tell her.”
“No,” her mother whispered.
“She wouldn’t believe us.”
“And she shouldn’t have to.”
Adrian lowered his gaze.
“I only want her to be happy.”
His sister gave him a tired look.
“Then stop looking at her like you’re afraid she’ll vanish.”
Adrian said nothing.
Because that was exactly what he was afraid of.
The family slowly began leaving the dining room.
But before Adrian went upstairs, he looked toward Rosalina’s closed bedroom door.
He didn’t knock.
He simply stood there.
For a long moment.
Watching.
Waiting.
Making sure she was still there.
Because they had already lost her once.
They would never allow themselves to lose her again.
Even if Rosalina eventually began wondering why everyone in the mansion suddenly seemed terrified of letting her out of their sight.
Even if she began to fear the very people who claimed to love her.
Even if she started asking questions they could never answer.
They would endure it.
Because guilt could be survived.
Suspicion could be survived.
Her hatred could even be survived.
But losing Rosalina again?
That was something none of them were willing to experience again.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD