Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder

Chapter 89: Open or Closed?

**Rosalie‘s POV

“Do you know Soren?” I asked Ethan.

I should‘ve asked this question much sooner, but I was very

used to seeing Soren, so their similarity no longer bothered me. And the past few days, I‘d been so distra

cted that this question never came to mind… until just now.

Ethan and Soren looked alike… was there

any relationship between them, or was this purely coincidence?

He looked at me, and his eyes filled with a mix of emotions.

Ethan finally replied, “I know him now.”

I looked at him in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.

He smiled bitterly, and looked at me with a heartbroken expression on his face. “He‘s my rival in love.”

Thad not expected that to be the answer, and was struck dumb for a moment.

Then, I felt my face beginning to heat up, and I heard myself trying to

explain, “He… he‘s a good friend of mine!”

Why did I feel the need to explain myself to him?!

Ethan visibly relaxed a bit, and the corner of his lips turned up slightly.

“I’m glad he was here to help you when you needed him,” he said.

I let out a deep breath, feeling relieved.

Soren never mentioned anything about his family, and I didn‘t remember hearing about

Ethan having brothers when I was back in the Drogomor pack. It was just that I

had a strange feeling that I was missing something, so wanted to be sure.

“What sort of

trouble did you have when you got here?” Ethan asked. It was obvious that he didn‘t want to talk about S

oren any more.

Was he… jealous?

“I was robbed. It was awful.”

Ethan was immediately nervous. “Were you hurt? Are you okay now? And the baby?”

“Yes, we‘re fine now,” I smiled. “Thanks to Sor.. my friend, and the doctor he provided us with.”

Feeling uncomfortable talking about Soren after

what Ethan had said, I stood up from the swing. “Really, Ethan, / need to go,” I said, walking towards my

cottage.

“Rosalie!” His voice stopped me in my tracks.

I turned and looked over my shoulder.

“The necklace,” he asked. “Was it stolen from you when you were attacked?”

Was Ethan trying to confirm whether I actually did sell the necklace?

I thought for a moment, and decided to be honest.

“No, it wasn‘t taken,” I answered. “At first, I held onto that necklace because I wanted a piece of you with

me, Ethan. But the longer I was away from you, the more I realized I could do this on my own. So.. I sold

it, so that I could move on.”

He stared at me for a moment, looking like he was trying to stop his emotions from showing on his face.

I felt I was justified in every word that I had said, but seeing him suffer still broke

my heart, even after everything that happened.

I sighed and softened my tone. “I need to get back inside and get to.bed. I‘m tired. Goodbye, Ethan.” “All

right,” he replied with a sigh. “I‘ll come back tomorrow. If the window‘s open, I’ll wait for you to come out.”

“But if it‘s closed… you should leave,” I said. My hands were on my abdomen, like they usually were.

He nodded. “Good night, Rosalie.”

I didn‘t respond–only waved and went back into the house.

Once I was alone, I tried to process everything that had happened recently.

I didn‘t know if I should be happy that Ethan

had finally shown up outside of my cottage again or if I should be furious at him for waiting three days to

come back.

In those three days, I‘d come to a decision. I was going to stay here and live my new life.

Why would he suddenly decide he had time for me again and start giving me reasons to change that

decision?

SO

It shouldn‘t have been that way. I should have just stayed secure in the decision I had made earlier that d

ay.

After I got ready for bed, I lay there, uncomfortable because of the baby anyway. I

stared at the ceiling with pillows shoved under my back and under my belly, trying to

find a way to fall asleep… but thinking about Ethan.

Had he really apologized?

Alpha Ethan had said he was sorry, to me– twice?

What kind of a world was I living in now?

Maybe he really had changed, and he deserved me giving him a second chance.

Letting out a deep sigh, I closed my eyes and reminded myself of how kind Soren had been to me. How i

n the world could I tell him that I was going back to the life I had left, the one that I had fled to come here

? He‘d be so disappointed in me.

He wouldn‘t be wrong to feel that way, either.

Thad no hard proof that Ethan could actually change anything once we were back at the capital. Just bec

ause he said he wanted to be with me and didn‘t want to be with Madalynn, that didn‘t mean that he was

going to be able to get out of what King James had in store for him.

These thoughts kept turning over in my mind, but eventually, I fell asleep.

***

The next morning, I woke up a little later than usual.

Seraphine and Lola were already there. We went about our morning routine, and then I went over to Sor

en‘s house to check on things, like I always did, because that was my job.

I was still distracted, but I did my best to stay more focused than I had the last three day, during which I‘d

constantly dropped things, had stabbed myself with the sewing needle, and had made

my companions worry.

After I finished my work in the mansion and went back to the cottage, Lola asked me, “Are you going to p

repare dinner for Mr. Soren, Miss Ro, or should I do it?”

“Oh,” I said, having temporarily

forgotten he was coming back that afternoon. I had been thinking about it a lot the day before, but my mi

nd had been on Ethan today, and I‘d let it slip my mind.

“I‘ll make something,” I told her. I liked to make dinner for Soren

when he came back from one of these longer trips.

“Yes, Miss,” Lola said. “Do you need any help?”

“No, I don‘t think so,” I told her.

I gave her a small smile and started to

go into the kitchen when I noticed that the window behind her was open. I stared at it for a moment, won

dering if I wanted to leave it that way. I

knew it was the window Ethan would be looking at to see if I wanted him to come back that evening. It w

as the one that overlooked the garden.

Without another thought, I went over and pushed the window closed.

That was that. I didn‘t need to think about it anymore. I had made my decision.

I went about making a chicken dish I‘d made for Soren before. I knew he really

enjoyed it. It would be done about the time he arrived, but it had to cook very slowly to keep all of the

flavors in. I added all of the herbs and put it in the oven to cook.

But while I was preparing it, my mind kept going back to Ethan.

He had been so sincere the night before. At one point, I even thought I saw tears glistening in his eyes.

Really, all he was asking of me was the opportunity to speak to

me. Was that so wrong? Wasn‘t I being awfully cruel in not even giving

him the chance to express himself?

After I popped the chicken into the oven, I found myself going back

into the living room and opening the window, the smell of food was getting a bit strong, even though it sme

My eyes looked out over the garden. It was mid–afternoon, and the sun was still up. So I didn‘t expect

him to

show himself.

I just wanted a glimpse of him– another quick taste.

I didn‘t see him, though, so I went back into the kitchen.

I decided to make a pie. It could bake at the same temperature as the chicken and for the same amount

of time. Thad all of the ingredients for a fresh apple pie, something I‘d never made for Soren before.

I made the crust, rolling the dough out with the rolling pin, which was tiring.

As I rolled, I thought, “You‘re being stupid, Rosalie. You‘re just inviting trouble back into your life. Think ab

with everything you could possibly ever need. If you let Ethan back into your life, you‘re going to regret it.”

I put the pie crust in the pan and headed into the living room to close the window.

“Is everything all right, Miss Ro?” Lola asked me.

“Yes, everything‘s fine,” I said, pausing on my way back to the kitchen to look at her.

“Well, you keep opening and closing the window. I just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong.” Lo

“Oh, uh, I just… I‘m baking a pie. So.. it‘s getting a little warm in here,” I said as I headed back into the kitc

“Then shouldn‘t you have just opened the window?” she called after me, but I just kept walking

because I didn‘t really have a response for that.

All I wanted to do was tell her to leave it closed.

After I finished making the pie and slid it into the oven, I realized I was exhausted. The last few nights, I ha

It was almost as if he was practicing playing peek–a–

boo when the baby arrived. Would he show up, or wouldn‘ the?

Well, now that the window was closed, I wouldn‘t have to worry about that anymore.

I decided to lie down and take a nap for a little while. However, I found that I couldn‘t fall asleep at all.

As I was tossing and turning, I heard Seraphine say to Lola, “It‘s so hot and stuffy in here with the oven on

open this window for a bit…”

Did she open the window? I wasn‘t sure if it was real or I dreamed it.

However, I felt too tired to get up and check–so I stayed in bed, and finally was able to fall asleep.

When I got up a bit later to the sound of the kitchen timer going off, the window was closed, and

everyone was gone. I got the food out of the oven and hurried to get ready for Soren to come over for

dinner.

I was confused whether Seraphine had actually stopped by, and was frustrated with myself

that I couldn‘t make up my mind.

However, it didn‘t matter. I told myself that if Ethan had come by

while I was sleeping and that window was open he might be expecting me in the garden that night.

He‘d be disappointed.

I wasn‘t going.