Chapter 1 – Theo and Rosie

Her head felt like it was about to split apart.

Rosie clutched her throbbing forehead and slowly opened one eye.  

The harsh light pouring in through the wide-open curtains made her eyes scrunch up.

Not only her head, but her whole body seemed to be screaming in pain. She barely managed to turn over and bury her face in the pillow. It seemed she had drunk far too much last night.

But—

Where was this place again.

Rosie blinked and looked around.

On top of that, her body felt somehow different than usual.

That is to say—

It felt like she was bare-skinned right now.

Rosie slowly turned her head to the side.  

A dark purple velvet curtain, embroidered lavishly, covered about half of a window so wide that one could see clearly outside. It was certainly beautiful and luxurious, but it was a window and curtain she had never seen before.

And so was her pale shoulder, which was clearly completely bare.

Rosie’s eyes widened in shock.

‘Where is this?’

Just as she tried to trace back her memory of last night, a low, rough groan sounded, and a heavy weight settled onto her back.

It was unmistakably a man’s voice. A cold sweat ran down Rosie’s spine. The unidentified man pulled her closer and wrapped her in his arms.

She bit her lip hard and covered her mouth to keep the scream threatening to burst out.

‘Did he wake up? What do I do. What do I do. What are you going to do, you crazy Rosie!’

But after that, the man did not move at all. He must have shifted in his sleep.

Rosie swallowed dryly and very carefully lifted her head. And the moment she confirmed the man’s identity.

Her face turned deathly pale and froze.

This could not be happening. It could not.

‘I have to get out. Now. I have to run away from here.’

To slip out of the man’s hold, Rosie began moving as slowly as humanly possible. She could not understand how just one arm could feel so heavy. She moved inch by inch, barely even breathing. It was the quietest she had ever been in her life.

At last, once she had escaped his arm, Rosie threw on her clothes at the speed of light. She did not even have time to check whether she had dressed properly. She swept the accessories lying on the table into her bag. After gathering her shoes and belongings, she tiptoed out of the room.  

She shut the door as silently as possible and quickly moved away from it.  

Only after she had gone far enough that the sound of her heels could no longer be heard did Rosie look back. The door remained still. It seemed the man was still fast asleep.

“Whew.”

Letting out a long sigh, Rosie quickly put on her shoes. Then, without looking back once, she left the building.

* * *

As soon as Rosie entered the house, she carefully made her way toward her room, trying not to run into any of the servants if possible. It was a little ridiculous that all those childhood games of hide-and-seek were useful at a time like this.

“Finally, my room.”

After safely opening the door and stepping inside, she collapsed onto the bed. Her bag slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, its contents scattering across it.

What on earth happened.

Rosie blinked blankly and muttered,

“This is insane. This is insane. I’m insane.”

Just then, the door flew open.

“Miss!”

Mia, Rosie’s personal maid, rushed over the moment she saw her. Shaking Rosie, who was sprawled face-down like a corpse, Mia lowered her voice and said,

“Where in the world were you all night? Do you know how worried I was that the Earl might come looking for you?”

“Urgh! Don’t shake me, Mia. Ugh! I think I’m going to be sick!”

At the sound of Rosie retching, Mia stepped back.

“You drank?”

“Yeah….”

Rosie answered weakly.  

She drank…. she definitely drank. A lot, probably. A whole lot.

“Goodness. You really should know when to stop.”

Despite Mia’s scolding, Rosie lay there silently for quite a while. Worried because she was not moving at all, Mia slowly approached the bed, but then Rosie suddenly sat bolt upright.

“Mia…. What am I supposed to do.”

Startled, Mia flinched and asked,

“Huh? What is it, Miss?”

Rosie, who had been staring blankly, shook her head hard.

“It’s nothing. Nothing at all.”

Watching her with a bewildered look, Mia began picking up the belongings scattered across the floor.

“Would you like a bath? Shall I prepare the water?”

Rosie, who had slumped back onto the bed, nodded. Then a moment later, as though she had suddenly remembered something, she shot upright again and cried out,

“No!”

“Goodness!”

Startled by the shout, Mia fell backward and landed on the floor.

“Sorry, Mia. I’ll just wash up by myself. Go on out. Hurry. Quickly. Right now.”

Mia tilted her head at her unusually strange young lady today, then nodded uneasily.

“All right. Call me if you need anything.”

Rosie buried her face in the bed and merely waved one hand as if to tell her to leave already.

Mia cast her a worried glance, seeing how different she was from usual, and soon left the room.

As soon as she heard the door close, Rosie slowly lifted her head and checked the room.

“Whew. I almost got caught.”

She hurried to the bathroom. Her hangover made her feel like she might retch again, but first she had to wash up.

Once inside the bathroom, she untied the ribbon fastened around her chest. Her clothes fell to her feet. Passing beyond the layers of clothing that dropped one by one, she walked toward the mirror.

“That crazy b*stard.”

She had taken a rough look earlier before getting dressed, but it was worse than she had thought.

Rosie’s body looked as if there was not a single unmarked place on it. Her pale white skin was flushed red here and there, as if crimson flowers had bloomed all over it.

She could practically tell without looking just how much biting and kissing there had been.

No. This should not have happened.

He and I should never have ended up like this!

Rosie stood in front of the mirror, clutching her hair and stamping her feet, but it was already too late. What was done was done.

* * *

“Ha!”

A hollow laugh escaped Theodore. Having woken up, he rubbed a hand down his dry face and laughed as if the whole thing were absurd.

In the hotel room, warm sunlight streamed in. The space beside him, where he had expected someone to be after last night, was empty.

He reached out and brushed his hand over the bed, where the traces of the previous night remained exactly as they were. As his fingers traced the faintly smeared marks and the streak of red blood, he could vividly picture her hot response beneath him last night.

Those blue eyes that had looked at him with reddened rims still lingered before his eyes.  

But there was no warmth left in the sheets. It seemed she had been gone quite a while already.

“This is unbelievable.”

A large hand roughly swept back his hair. His glossy black hair fell tousled under his fingers.

How could she possibly run away, leaving him behind.

The great Theodore Elmer Durand had slept with someone only to be discarded afterward. That could not be allowed.

“Rosemary.”

Theo ground his teeth and threw off the blankets as he rose.