NovelEnglishROSE's POV
| stood in front of Shevek's room door; the brown mahogany surface stared back at me.
I wasn't sure if he would like to see me, at the stime, | wanted to comfort him.
It took all the strength | had to finally knock on the door.
There was no response. But | knew Shevek was inside. That was the first place he went immediately Eden was
laid on the bed to recover.
I knew he chere to reflect.
Today was about him sharing a part of his life with us. It couldn't have been a simple task.
And then, there was Eden's reaction to it. | was glad she was fine; my daughter is everything to me.
I knocked again. When | still didn't get a response, | tried the doorknob and found it unlocked, then | entered.
It was daylight outside, but his room was shrouded in darkness. The thick curtains that hang over the windows
were not drawn open today.
| closed the door and allowed my eyes adjust to the room before | said a word.
"Shevek." | called.
| could see his silhouette by the window. It was almost too dark to not mistake him for the curtains, but | saw
him.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. His voice was rough and cutting. "I wanted to be by myself."
"I know." Tired of squinting in the dark, | said "Open the curtains, please."
It took a while before Shevek moved and dragged a hand over the thick curtains. He drew it to the side, and light
poured into the room through the floor to ceiling windows.
His back was turned to me, facing the window. | saw the slump in his shoulders and his crossed hands. He looked
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtlost in my presence, even though | knew he was aware of every movement | made.
Before | could say another word, he placed his hands on the windows and pushed. To my surprise, it gave way to
a balcony that overlooked the house grounds.
I never knew he had a balcony attached to his room. But then, what do I really know of Shevek aside from what
he has allowedto know in the past few days?
| followed him as he stepped onto the balcony.
"Rose," he called softly. He didn't look at me, but | could sense the sadness in his voice and with the way he
carried himself.
| closed the space between us and placed my hand on my shoulders. | wanted him to faceand share his pain
with me.
"Do you wanthere?" | also needed to respect his wishes.
He took a pause before he gave a stiff nod. "Stay... | didn't think you would want to seeagain after knowing
the truth of what | did to my beloved and how my actions threatened Eden's shot at happiness." His voice
cracked. "Or are you here to blme for everything that happened? If that is your intention, don't bother. |
already know how much of a terrible person | am." My heart ached.
His beloved.
The thought of how he had to kill a woman he loved still plagued me, but looking at him, | knew it was something
he would never forgive himself for. He was still haunted by it. "I'm not here to blyou. | would never." |
started. "I admit you could have done things in a better way, but that doesn't mean that | do not see the man
beneath all that rage." He turned to me, and | saw the depth of vulnerability he had masked earlier.
"You don't need to pretend to be kind, Rose. | know you are scared of me; neither do | deserve you to forgive me
for keeping Lyraea a secret."
| sighed. | removed my hands from his shoulder and stood beside him.
I leaned against the railing and lifted my face to the sky, the clear afternoon air ran over my skin. | closed my
eyes. For a few seconds, | stayed in the sposition before | opened my eyes and faced him. "You are allowed
to keep your secrets and tellwhen you want to tell me. | knew you hid it frombecause you didn't want
"Are you saying you forgivefor not telling you everything before now?" He frowned. "Even when | tried to
make Ryker, Eden's mate?"
Truly, that part tookby surprise, and | would have stopped him if Eden's friends hadn't intervened at the
right time.
"I must confess you shocked me, but | see now that it was your own way of trying to protect your daughter. But
Lyraea has hurt you, in a way that has made it difficult to heal without scars." | said softly Lord Shevek looked at
me, his gaze intense. "It was hard for me. She was my fated, and she betrayed my trust." His jaw clenched
tightly.
| stretched out my hand again and
touched his arm. "I know how that feels. | understand you more than you think His gaze didn't leave my face.
Suddenly overwhelmed by my own emotions, | looked away. "My mate. Griffin. He was different from who |
thought he was. There was no fairytale for me, no happy ending."
Shevek cocked a brow in surprise. "lI assumed you haven't met anyone else."
I chucked.
"| did. But he rejected me." | said.
"I'm sorry."
vel?
| nodded. "It wasn't your fault." | thought about it. "Or maybe it was slightly your fault. You gotpregnant after
all, but then Griffin's actions are in no way justified, was used and abandoned over and over again."
Shevek growled. "What happened?"
"I met him after our night together and found out | was pregnant. He rejected me. | had false hope that he would
cto loveeventually but he didn't; instead, he married i best friend and usedas a mistress until he
got tired of me." | sighed.
"Why did you allow him to do that to you?" Shevek growled, his voice laced with anger, but | knew it wasn't
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmdirected at me.
"I was a fool for hoping he would eventually love me, but Griffin was a manipulator. He knew how to getto
stay exactly where he neededto be." | smiled. The pain in my voice is evident. "It was tough."
A tear slipped out of my left eye, and Shevek cleaned it off with his thumb as | continued.
"I hated him. | still hate him for the lies and how he used me. So many times | thought of killing him, but |
couldn't bring myself to do it." | murmured.
"Believe me, you don't want to." Shevek gavea sad smile. "It never makes you feel better... talking from
experience." He chuckled. "You deserve better."
I smiled. "You too."
The air grew heavy with an uneasy silence as | weighed my next question. "What about us? You told| was
your second chance mate. You askedto give you stime. Tell me, what have you decided?" Shevek ran
his hand over his hair, blond strands just like Eden's, shielded his beautiful eyes from my view. | felt tempted to
use my fingers to sweep them back, but held myself.
"Rose. | still need more tto decide. | need to figure out what | want. It's not as simple as you make it seem."
"And it's not as difficult as you make it look." | said with a frown. My eyes grew heavy with tears as | felt one roll
down. "You know what? Take all the tyou need, Shevek."
| turned away, about to leave before the tears could spill over, but before | could take another step, Shevek
grabbedand pulledto him.
| fell into his arms just as he leaned in and kissed me.
It was nothing like the rough, fiery passion we have always had. No, this was gentle, sweet, and overly
passionate. He deepened the kiss, and | matched up with his pace, our lips moving in sync.
He broke the kiss and laid his forehead on mine as we stared into each other's eyes.
"I'm scared... | don't want to hurt you. | can't trust myself to do right by you. but | don't want to lose you either."
His grip tightened on my arm, and he kissedagain, pouring out his heart into it.
At that moment, the sky changed. We looked up to see a rainbow stretched across the horizon. It shimmered.
"Maybe it's a sign." | smiled.
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