“I promise,” he said. “I won’t involve myself with Rose again. But don’t ever talk about yourself like that. Not to me.”
She did not respond.
She did not know how.
So she turned back toward the wall, letting silence answer for her.
He held her a little closer.
“Rest,” he murmured. “You need sleep.”
She was tired. Deeply tired. Emotionally drained.
But sleep felt impossible with too many thoughts, too many unanswered questions, and a man beside her who still held too much space in her heart.
Still, slowly, her breathing began to soften.
Not because everything was solved.
But because, for tonight, she let herself believe she was safe.
Rose woke slowly, as if her body was fighting against the morning. Her head throbbed with a dull, heavy pain that made her squeeze her eyes shut again.
“Damn it…” she muttered under her breath.
Her mouth felt dry. Her mind felt foggy. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her face with both hands, trying to wake herself fully. The room spun slightly before settling again.
Then something hit her.
Last night.
Fragments of memory came rushing in, messy and unclear. The phone in her hand. Her own voice sounding strange and careless. Jabco’s name. The call.
Her heart skipped.
She immediately looked down at herself, almost panicked. Her clothes were still neatly on. No signs of anything strange. No unfamiliar surroundings. She was in her own room, not a hotel, not somewhere unknown.
That confused her even more.
If nothing happened… then what did happen?
The memories were broken, like shattered glass. She could not remember how she got home. Could not remember what she said. Could not remember how much she embarrassed herself.
That uncertainty was worse than a clear memory would have been.
She swung her legs off the bed and stood up quickly, ignoring the lingering dizziness. Her chest felt tight with unease as she opened her door and stepped into the hallway.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then she saw him.
Jabco.
He was stepping out of Riyana’s room.
Rose froze completely.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up. She instinctively pulled back and hid behind the wall near the corner, pressing herself against it as she watched him without being seen.
He closed Riyana’s door softly.
That small detail burned into her mind.
He stood there for a moment, like he was lost in thought, then turned and walked down the stairs calmly, like someone who belonged there. Like someone who had spent the night.
Rose did not move.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
Her nails dug into her palms.
Anger rose in her chest, sharp and bitter, spreading fast.
So he stayed? With Riyana?
In this house.
In Riyana’s room.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward Riyana’s closed door. The hallway felt suddenly too narrow, too suffocating.
It was obvious.
Jabco had spent the night with Riyana.
The realization felt like a slap to the face.
“How dare they?” Rose thought bitterly.
Not just anywhere. In this house. Under this roof. Like they had no shame at all.
If they were this bold here, then what would they be like when no one was around?
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