Alpha's Revelation

Chapter 18

Once we got to the building, Blake drove into the underground car park. We drove past Taylor’s one, and her parents' car wasn’t there anymore, but there was a different car.

We got out and headed to the lift. Once we got to the 10th floor, Blake walked over to the door and opened it.

“Remind me to find you the spare key to this place. I’ve got it here somewhere,” Blake said as he walked in and motioned for me to come in.

I looked at Taylor’s apartment door. For the last six years, I had lived in that apartment with her, and today I stood outside, knowing I couldn’t go back in. I opened my bag and pulled out my keys. I took off the key to Taylor’s apartment and walked over to knock on her door. Rocky opened the door.

“Hey! You guys are back. How was the drive?” Rocky asked me and then looked behind me, “If you’re still holding the door open for her, then I’m guessing Beth hasn’t scared you away?” He asked Blake and chuckled a little.

“Well, I can tell you that f**k, she’s scary, but no, she hasn’t scared me away,” Blake replied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Taylor said from inside the apartment. She appeared behind Rocky and leaned on the door frame.

“You wanna come in? Mum and Dad have gone,” she asked.

“No, I'm good, thank you. I just wanted to return your key.” I held out the key for her, and she looked at it.

“Keep it, babe. It can be for emergencies.”

“Take it, please. I don’t want your dad accusing me of stealing something from your house if he finds out I still have a key.” I didn’t want Mr. Callum to have any reason to argue with Taylor. She nodded and took the key from my hand.

“Whose car is parked downstairs ?” I asked. It was none of my business.

“Chris. His here. Dad wanted to make sure that there was no chance for me to bring you back in once they left. So he made Chris move in today.” She wouldn’t look straight at me. Her glassy eyes wandered everywhere.

“Tay, he’s your father. I don’t want you ruining your relationship with them over me. Please just do as they ask. I’ll be fine.” I reached out and rubbed Taylor’s arm.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay with you till now. It’s time I learn to spread my wings.” I turned around and walked back to Blake’s apartment door. “Have a good night,” I called over my shoulder and walked in. I heard Blake say goodnight to them as well. He said something else, but I didn’t hear it.

I walked straight to my bedroom and shut the door. Tears started flowing again, and I needed to cry. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Without caring about the water temperature, I sat on the shower floor, letting the water drench me. Just like a few nights ago, I hugged my knees and just let go of my tears.

I don’t know how long I've been in there. The water was running cold, and I was shivering, but I stayed there. My mind was filled with too many things, and I couldn’t get rid of them. Memories of what Vince did played in my head and were mixed with memories of my mum's clients trying to get their way with me. The flashbacks were painful, and somehow the cold water was numbing that pain.

“Rosy, you in there?” Blake’s voice came from the doorway. I hadn’t closed the bathroom door.

When I didn’t answer, Blake’s head appeared on the edge of the door, and his eyes widened when he saw me.

“Rosy, what the hell are you doing??” He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. He leaned over me and turned off the water.

“f**k that’s cold! Are you crazy!?” He said, wrapping the towel around my shoulders, and pulled me to my feet.

“We need to get you warmed up. You’re shivering!” His voice was very concerned. My teeth were chattering, and my fingers had shriveled from being underwater for too long.

Blake wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me to the living area. He grabbed another towel and put it over his shoulder. He had the fireplace going since we were in the middle of winter. He pulled one of the single-seater sofas and put it right in front of the fireplace. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap. He grabbed the blanket that was hanging on the back of the sofa and wrapped it around me.

He hugged me tightly and rubbed my arm to warm me up. He grabbed the towel he brought with him and started to dry my hair as well.

“f**k sake, Rosy. What are you trying to do? Get pneumonia?? It’s already freezing out, and you're sitting under cold water! Have you lost it?!” He sounded angry.

He moved a little so that I was completely facing the fire. He kept rubbing my arms and had me pressed up against him. I placed my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around me. I felt like the cold had settled inside me. A shiver ran through me, and I closed my eyes, trying to absorb the warmth of the fire and Blake’s body heat. I felt him move me from his lap, and I felt the cushion from the sofa touch my butt. I didn’t open my eyes and just leaned into the sofa. The warmth from the fire felt nice. I pulled the blanket closer and held it tightly. My eyes refused to open, and I gave in, letting sleep take over.

When my eyes opened next, I was very warm. I was still in front of the fireplace, and there was still darkness outside. The lights in the apartment were turned off, and the orange from the fire lit up the place. I stretched and started pulling off the blanket. There were 2 new blankets wrapped around me, and my hair was braided. Did Blake do this?

I freed myself and got up. The light in the kitchen was still on, so I walked towards it. Blake was sitting at the counter, tapping away on his laptop. He must have heard me because he turned around.

“Oh, did I wake you up?” He asked, and I shook my head and sat on the stool next to him.

“How are you feeling?” He got up and turned on the water jug. He pulled out 2 cups from the cupboard and all the stuff he needed to make coffee.

“Warmer,” I said and smiled at him.

“Don’t you smile at me. What you did was stupid, Rosy. Imagine if I hadn’t come looking for you. You could have gotten very sick, and people would have thought I was trying to get rid of you.” he didn’t sound angry, just annoyed.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

He placed a cup of coffee in front of me and sat back down.

“Drink. It will help warm up your insides,” he said and sipped on his coffee.

I wrapped both my hands around the cup and sipped the coffee. Ahh, yes, that did feel nice.

“God, you scared the s**t out of me.” Blake sighed and looked at his cup.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to have a cry and didn’t realize the water was getting that cold,” I said, also avoiding eye contact with him.

“Well, maybe next time make sure the water is warm before you sit under it.”

I looked up, and he was looking at me. His eyes filled with concern.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I’m totally fine, I swear.”

“I don’t believe you.” His voice was soft.

“I wish I could make you believe, but I really am fine. I mean, yes, I’m still upset about what’s happened, but I’m warmer now. Even my hair has dried. Did you braid it?” I asked him, arching my eyebrow.

He chuckled, “Yes, I did. I have a younger sister who used to love getting her hair braided. I learnt so I could help my mum in the mornings, getting her ready for school.”

That was so damn adorable! He was such a good son.

“That’s so cute! Your mum is very lucky to have a son like you.”

“Yeah, she bought me a mug to remind me how much she loves me,” he laughed.

“She sounds amazing.”

“She is. You would love her. She’s very chatty and loves to feed people. Dad is chatty too, but he loves to wind Mum up. Those two have the kind of love that makes everyone jealous.” He had a smile spread across his face as he spoke. He must really love his parents.

“That’s so cute! I wish I could find love like that,” I replied and sipped on my coffee.

“Oh, they didn’t find each other. My parents had an arranged marriage. They had only met like twice before their wedding.”

“What?!? Are you serious?” I was shocked!

“Yep, I’m very serious. My mum's parents passed away in a plane crash. My grandfather was really good friends with my mum's dad. They didn’t come from money, just ordinary, hardworking people. Mum was alone and didn’t have any family left. So grand-dad told my dad about her and said maybe the two should get married. Grandad didn’t want her to be alone. The first time they met, Dad said he couldn’t believe there was such an extraordinary woman out there and thanked his lucky stars for bringing her into his life. The second time they met was during their engagement, and then they got married. 35 years later, they are still madly in love.” Blake had a huge smile on his face the whole time he told me his story.

Blake’s smile made me smile, “That’s so adorable, Blake. That sounds like a fairytale. Your mum is very lucky to have someone like your dad,” I replied.

“Yeah, Dad really does treat her like a queen. The things he does for her, I’ve rarely seen another man do for their wives. He is the best role model. Through him, I’ve learnt how women should be treated and how marriage should actually be.” his eyes were sincere. I couldn’t help but envy the girl he would settle with.

“Wow, Blake, you’re going to make some girl very happy. It’s like winning a jackpot. Guys who have those values and that kind of thinking are very rare and hard to find. I can’t help but feel jealous,” I laughed a little.

Blake didn’t laugh back. He stared at me. His face had gone very serious, and it was a little scary.

He got out of his seat and walked over to me. He stood in front of me and took my hands into his.

*What was he doing?*

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know I want to marry someone to fall in love with after marriage. I want our lives to come together with us learning about each other so that we can grow with one another. I’ve tried the whole love before marriage thing, and that was a total bust. Kyra broke me in more ways than one. But this time I want it to be the way my parents did it.” I was still holding my hand, and his look had me very confused.

“I’m sure you’ll get a chance to do that, Blake. You're a wonderful guy and you're gonna make some girl very, very happy!” There was an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.

“Rosy...” he said. His voice, shaky.

“Yeah?”

“Marry me”.......

My jaw dropped open, and my throat dried out. What was happening?!