Chapter Text
“Sunny skies! Truly, I can’t imagine a better day to spend it outside!”
Rosa reached over and turned off the alarm as she glanced at the time. Nine o’clock. The yawn that left her mouth was lazy and lingered before she stretched her body. She sat up and cleared her eyes before yanking up her phone. She rolled her neck as she glanced over her messages and crawled from the sheets.
It was mechanical and completely natural for her to check through things with accuracy before starting her day. She pulled on her typical workout outfit and paced down the staircase. Her apartment altered over the months, and it shifted to a bit more traditional feel. It just felt more homely.
Before the door sounded, she opened it and walked toward the teapot. “Good morning, Missy,” Marius chuckled as he walked inside.
“Good morning, Marius,” Rosa hummed as she put the kettle on the heat. “Did you have your coffee yet?”
“Oh yeah, don’t worry about me, Missy,” he replied and collapsed on the loveseat in her sitting room.
The woman pulled out her small blender, and with several movements toward the ice bin and fridge, she had the fixings for a smoothie. Marius pulled out his sketch pad and a pencil while Rosa remained busy in the kitchen.
“How was work this week?” Rosa questioned.
“Applicable,” Marius hummed. “Meetings, mergers, money. You know, the boring stuff,” he added and glanced up at her while his hand moved.
“Excellent. I closed out that case on the poisoning. I think this next week will be slower,” Rosa smiled before turning on the blender.
“That’s good. I bet Artem was please, Miss Attorney,” Marius teased, and his eyes returned to his pad.
She poured the smoothie into two glasses before placing it in two reusable thick straws. Marius reclined as Rosa set the smoothie down next to him on the side table before doing the same with hers at the armchair. The kettle went off with a loud whistle, and she smiled to herself. Clockwork.
Tea. Rosa placed the loose leaf in the ceramic pot and caressed the design a moment. His voice was so pleasant in that hint of happiness and intrigue when he told her about the blend they would drink. Her own tea connoisseur. No.
She shook her head and exhaled with a smile before organizing the tray. It was all routine, and she did it for her own benefit. Rosa was careful with the tray as she brought it into the sitting room. Marius arched his eyebrow while he was drawing.
“When are you going to break this torture, Missy?” Marius asked.
“It doesn’t matter to you, does it? I agreed after tea and something to sustain me that we would go do whatever crazy sport you wanted,” Rosa hummed.
Marius rocked his head. “I remember.”
“Then leave my Saturdays alone,” Rosa huffed as she made herself a cup.
There was silence between them, and Rosa stared down at the contents of her teacup. She pursed her lips and inhaled before sipping it. Remembering the taste that matched the memory of him smiling and explaining the technique of teas through the world.
It was almost as if she could live in these conversations. Rosa wasn’t broken. Not like months ago. This was a communion with her mind over the man that changed her. Her hand touched the topaz, and she smiled again. The hope that he had done what he left to accomplish. Rosa wished him contentment every day, even if it wasn’t hers to view anymore. That’s the only you can do when you love someone.
As her eyes caressed the sunny day that greeted her through the windows, she pressed her hand to her chest. He may have left his heart here, or not, she’d really never know, but he certainly took hers. Like ice thawing in the harsh winter she lived through, her eyes bounced to Marius, and she set down her tea.
“So, what are we doing today?”
“Today, we’re going running, and then we’ll get dressed for the exhibition tonight,” Marius hummed.
She smiled and tilted her head. “Is ‘Z’ actually going to show up this time?”
“No,” Marius chuckled and scowled as he drew. “However, how do you feel about going with me to Paris?”
Paris. The warble of sadness crept upon her. She exhaled, and her eyes stared at the scarf she wrapped around the small cat figure on her shelf. It was such a simple thought. However, she hadn’t a choice. It was crawling toward the inevitable; she was going to have to move on from what could have been. Hopefully, he was happy. She would have to seek a semblance of it eventually.
“Okay,” Rosa agreed.
Marius blinked and tilted his head. “Really, Missy? You’d go to Paris, the romance capital of the world, with me?”
“Who else would I go with? I suppose I could ask Artem,” she smiled.
Marius glared as his violet eyes prodded at her. “Funny. However, I could teach you about the Louvre.”
“Yes, you could,” she agreed. “When did you want to go?”
“Two weeks from now?”
Rosa bounced her head as she sipped her smoothie. “Okay, I’ll make sure I’m ready.”
“Perfect,” Marius chuckled and turned the pad around.
There she was on the sketch pad staring out the window, with her hand touching her chest. The necklace was above her hand, and her eyes were bright and conveyed longing. Well, she was never great at masking like Vyn. Vyn, well, he was a ghost.
“That’s wonderful, Marius,” she smiled.
“Yeah, she’s pretty beautiful,” he said as he admired the sketch.
Rosa climbed from her chair and bent, kissing his cheek. “I’m going to run to the restroom, and we’ll go.”
He rocked his head before collecting his smoothie. “Alright, Miss Attorney.”
As she multitasked by drinking down her smoothie and heading toward the bathroom, she thought about her life. It took plenty of time for the sun to crawl out from the clouds. Sometimes the storm leaves a horrible mess and wreckage, but then when the world breathes, it leaves behind a new state of life. Beautiful, terrible, injured, but fresh.
Elegant fingers tapped away at the keys as the strings echoed through the Diaphone. A broken teacup held a beautiful white feather on the desk as the pen bounced from the contact of the man’s hand on the surface as he finished.
His other hand raced through long silvery hair as his eyes scanned the email. Good enough. He sent it and continued his attack without acknowledging the teacup that sat on his desk. He didn’t even consider the woman that entered the room.
“Vilhelm, darling,” her voice was smooth and blended with the music.
“Yes,” he asked without pausing his typing.
“I’m reminding you that Sophia is here for dinner,” Ester hummed.
“She understands I’m finishing work, aunt,” Vilhelm murmured as he wrapped up the email.
Ester exhaled as she paced into the room and touched his shoulder. “Vilhelm.”
He adjusted his glasses and stood up. “Yes, alright. I shalln’t be impolite.”
Her fingers ran along the seam of his jacket and adjusted it. “Are you going to allow me to fix your hair?”
Vilhelm rocked his head. “Yes.”
Ester breathed as he escorted her from the study, leaving the music playing. It was always playing in his study, even with his absence. Resetting and playing over again. It was truly the only destructive habit that was evident for anyone who knew him. Or used to know him. Frankly, he didn’t know who he was anymore—a hollowed-out husk.
The bathroom near the study was small but well used. He often worked for long stints of time and only saw his study or bathroom. Ester opened the drawer as Vilhelm sat down and checked his phone. He was busily going over texts when his aunt began to brush his hair.
“It seems that Sasha is doing well. Paris is suiting her. Elsa will be joining her before they return home at the end of the month,” he declared.
“I love their emails. It was pleasant that you sent them with a trusted friend to see the world, Vil,” Ester declared as she ran her fingers through his hair.
“They deserve to experience the world before marriage. Why wouldn’t we allow them to see it with open eyes?” Vilhelm responded.
Ester bound back his hair and patted his shoulder. “Let’s go see if Sophia is ready to depart for dinner.”
He rocked his head before pocketing his phone and standing. “Yes.”
Ester left the bathroom, and Vilhelm glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Six months, seventeen days, eleven hours, and twenty minutes. Give or take. The gold-rimmed glasses made his eyes look cold and calculated. He practiced a smile with his chin raised in the slightest. The loose hair made his face seem older. Older than he would have enjoyed, but this wasn’t for him. The shadow on his face created the hint of rugged dominance.
He rocked his head before leaving the room. There was something that always remained heavy on his shoulders. As heavy as the pins on his jacket. Weighted more than the sash he placed against his sleeve.
The pair entered the sitting room, and the woman in question was sitting in her exquisite navy dress that had wispy sleeves pooling streams of tulle around her bodice to the skirt. It was complemented by her dark curls that were immaculately formed around her cheeks and neck.
Vilhelm bowed, and his lips remained in that smile. His new face. “Good evening, My Lady.”
Sophia smiled and stood up, curtseying deeply. “Your Grace, it’s so pleasant to see you once again.”
“It’s my pleasure, My Lady,” he declared.
Her sapphire eyes were watching him as he dug in his coat pocket. He produced a navy ribbon before reaching for her hand, tying it with delicacy. “Happiness is all I can afford to give you.”
She giggled and shook her head. “Duke Haspran, the theatrics are unneeded.”
He inwardly sighed. He missed the theatrics. He missed the journey. “My apologies, Lady Sophia.”
Vilhelm bowed and gestured toward the door. “Shall we depart for young Lord Langdon’s birthday dinner?”
Sophia rocked her head and coiled her arm around Vilhelm’s arm. “Of course, Your Grace.”
Ester nodded, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Let’s try to have a great evening.”
Vilhelm smiled and nodded. “Yes, my dear aunt.”
They walked out of the house, and Vilhelm assisted the ladies into the car. He was about to join them when his eyes touched the sky. The stars were beginning to appear in the light of dusk.
“Look at the stars.”
He did, every night.
“It’s so lovely to feel like the world is slowed down and quiet.”
Vilhelm felt his heart lurk in his chest, and he inhaled to shove down discontent. The brief moments of clarity were difficult and rolled over him suddenly like whiplash. No, he had to keep smiling. The world wasn’t slowed down nor quiet any longer. The stars were dim.
He shook himself out and climbed into the car. Sophia took his hand and squeezed it. Vilhelm smiled at her before turning toward the front. “Drive on; we’re ready.”
The car pulled from its spot, and they were off. Traveling toward Atengard from the Stavoro Estate wasn’t a long drive. Vilhelm’s eyes traced the scenery while retaining his soft smile. It was a beautiful act as he was miles away.
“May?” Ester asked in a particular tone that drew him from his escape.
“I was thinking of such. What do you think, Vilhelm?” Sophia asked.
“May for?” He inquired as his eyes found Sophia’s.
Sophia laughed and shook her head. “Why is it that when women speak, men hear only two words?”
That was such a nobility jab. The disarming that women only did to declare their importance. Vilhelm resisted the urge to scowl. “I was working.”
“I was suggesting we get engaged by May,” Sophia declared. “And the wedding by August.”
His jaw tightened in the slightest. Presumptuous. There was absolutely no way he was going to marry this clothed puppet. “I haven’t decided, and I’d like to remind you that I’m in control of that agenda, Sophia,” he dismissed and glanced out the window again.
She laughed and squeezed his fingers. “Of course, Your Grace. I only am chatting as women often do.”
“Yes, keep the chatter down to a gentle murmur, Lady Sophia,” Vilhelm hummed with a firm warning.
“Yes, Your Grace,” she murmured and pulled her fingers from his.
He was in no mood to cater to hurt feelings for insolence. Vilhelm sat up straighter as they pulled onto the gravel before the border. When they stopped near the estate, the driver climbed out and assisted the ladies. Vilhelm glanced up at the building and inhaled. It was time to be charming.
His smile warmed, and he situated his jacket before pulling himself from the car. The driver bowed and offered the sheathed sword. “Your Grace.”
Vilhelm attached it to his belt and nodded. “You’re dismissed.”
Ester adjusted her dress and held her chin high. “It’s a beautiful night.”
“Yes,” he agreed and offered his arm. “My Lady.”
Sophia curtseyed and beamed. “Your Grace.”
The trio walked up the staircase, and Vilhelm felt the uneven state of his mind dissipate. He didn’t have time to be mixed up. He had a show to put on, and his leading lady was just as hollow as his own intentions. An actor in a play. That’s all he could see in the reflection.