Chapter 2

Theo leaned in so close that their faces were almost touching. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath. His ash-grey eyes were fixed on her, unwavering. Theo’s black eyebrows, furrowed between his brows, twisted fiercely. His displeasure was evident.

“Uh……. a little?”

So, yesterday.

Rosie had been dumped by her boyfriend, Calvin.

[You’re going to marry that Young Master anyway, aren’t you?]

No matter how much she stomped her feet and insisted otherwise, Calvin didn’t believe her.

[Everyone thinks so. How could a grown man and woman spend so much time together otherwise? I can’t keep seeing you like this.]

Calvin left her behind, staring in a daze. This was already the fifth time. Five boyfriends had broken up with her because of Theo.

She was angry. She was truly innocent. Not once, not even once, had Rosie ever felt romantic feelings for Theo.

To Rosie, Theo was just like family. At least, she thought so. She had no siblings, but if she did, she imagined they would be like Theo.

Yet, every boyfriend had told her they couldn’t see her unless she ended things with Theo.

But she couldn’t imagine a life without him, who had always been with her since childhood.

He was, so to speak, like oxygen, always present in Rosie’s life. Upset, she had gone straight to Theo. And then what?

She went directly to the Floca Hotel, drank there……

She even grabbed him by the collar, blaming him for everything.

“A little?”

Theo repeated incredulously.

“Yeah, a little. I drank…….”

She fidgeted with her fingers gripping the blanket, trying to recall.

“Um……. And……. I probably drank too much? Maybe?”

“Maybe?”

He asked in a sharp voice, and Rosie gave him a sheepish smile. No matter what she did wrong, Theo usually forgave her when she smiled like this.

But this time was different.

“How could you leave me alone there just because you don’t remember?”

Rosie lost her smile, feeling awkward. She looked up at his face with wide eyes.

Even angry, he was handsome. Many young ladies had fallen for those ash-grey eyes. Of course, Rosie wasn’t one of them.

“But you were too much, too.”

“I was too much?”

Theo’s full, shapely lips twisted. He seemed about to say something, but then dropped his head and let out a deep sigh.

“I was too much. Me.”

He murmured to himself.

“No matter how drunk I was, you should have kept your wits about you.”

Rosie muttered that her body was a mess. Theo, who had been sitting quietly with his head bowed, took his hand off the bed and stood up. Her gaze followed him automatically. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back.

“Well. Whoever was too much, it doesn’t matter now. What’s done is done.”

Rosie nodded and smiled at his words. As expected, it was Theo. Their minds were so in tune.

He thought this was a mistake, too. Nothing could be better. All her worries about how to face Theo seemed to vanish in an instant.

Theo was a precious friend. She couldn’t lose such a friend. Rosie nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“Yeah. What’s done is done. Let’s just forget it…….”

“Take responsibility.”

Rosie, who was happily continuing, doubted her ears.

“What do you mean, forget it.”

Theo turned his head sideways and ran his hand through his hair, sounding frustrated.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Take responsibility.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Rosie asked with a blank look. She simply couldn’t understand what Theo was saying.

“For what?”

“For me. Of course you have to take responsibility for me.”

“For you?”

She repeated his words as if she were a fool.

Rosie just blinked silently. Theo’s words tangled in her mind, making it hard to make sense of them.

Theo took her silence as agreement, sighed, and continued.

“I’ll tell our parents. It’s better for me to say it than for you, since you’re a woman.”

He sat down heavily beside her. Rosie still said nothing.

Theo understood. She must be embarrassed. Thinking his voice had been too sharp earlier, he cleared his throat.

“Let’s set the wedding date as soon as possible.”

But the answer he got wasn’t what he’d hoped for.

“Why should I?”

“What?”

Rosie tilted her head as if she truly didn’t understand.

“Why should I marry you?”

Theo’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Even in this moment, he found her golden hair, falling along her tilted head, attractive. And those coyly blinking eyes.

Crazy b*stard. Spineless b*stard.

“So you were just going to sleep with me for one night and then throw me away? Me? My innocence?”

“You were a virgin?”

Rosie asked, eyes wide. Theo’s face flushed, and he raised his hand to cover his mouth.

“You, you too. You were too!”

“Ah…….”

Rosie nodded.

But she didn’t put much meaning into ‘the first time’. What mattered to her was not this, but the fear of losing a good friend like Theo. She didn’t want to end up marrying him in such a haphazard way.

Of course, Theo was quite a catch.

No, he wasn’t just quite a catch—he was the ideal groom everyone dreamed of.

He was the heir to Durand, the only Dukedom in the Lapil Empire. With looks that could make statues weep and a sociable personality, not to mention impeccable status.

The line of young ladies hoping to catch a glimpse of him stretched all the way to the border. Rosie knew this best, since she was the one who got the jealous stares at every ball they attended together.

Still.

Marrying him like this just wasn’t right.

Rosie spoke to the indignant Theo.

“But I don’t want to marry you.”

“What?”

“I broke up with Calvin yesterday. My feelings aren’t settled yet, and marriage is, well… something I want to do with someone I’m truly, madly in love with.”

Theo’s face instantly froze. Rosie bit her lower lip as she saw his expression.

‘Ah, this is bad.’

Theo got colder when he was really angry. In over twenty years of friendship, she’d only seen that face once.

‘When was it?’

She couldn’t remember clearly, but she thought it was when she’d broken something.

Theo stared at her in silence. His ash-grey eyes were icy. He looked almost hurt. Though, of course, that couldn’t be true.

Theo stood up in a graceful motion. He was called a noble among nobles. Straightening his back, he adjusted his jacket and took a deep breath.

Rosie looked at him quietly, feeling a bit intimidated. Theo, lost in thought, didn’t even glance at her before finally speaking.

“You have to marry me. That’s how it is. I’ll handle the preparations, you just have to show up.”

“Theo.”

Ignoring her call, he quickly left the room. The sound of the door slamming shut seemed louder than usual.

In the dim room, only Rosie’s sigh echoed.

She collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

Theo probably wasn’t serious about marriage. He was just shocked and angry.

‘Maybe leaving him alone in the morning was a bit much.’

But waking him and leaving together would have been strange, too. If anyone saw them leaving the hotel early in the morning……

Calvin’s cold words would become reality overnight.

Besides, marrying after just one night would be a loss for him.

‘There are so many women chasing after him.’

Among them was the daughter of the family that owned the largest bank in the Empire, and the Marquis’s daughter, famous for her shipping company.

Rosie shook her head. Theo would probably regret what he said by tomorrow. She could already picture him coming back with an embarrassed face to take it back.

‘Yeah, let’s not worry about useless things.’

She patted her aching waist, rolled herself up in the blanket, and tried to sleep again.

* * *

But contrary to Rosie’s expectations, Theo didn’t come the next day, or the day after, or even the day after that.

‘Did he just forget about it?’

Or maybe he didn’t want to be friends anymore.

The first option was fine, but the second would be a little sad.

Theo was a really good friend. No, saying he was good wasn’t enough.

He and Rosie had the same taste in books, enjoyed the same games, and even liked the same foods.

She never felt bored when she was with him. If Theo turned away, Rosie would be the one to miss him.

Theo had many people around him, but Rosie had only Theo.

She sighed out of disappointment.

“My Lady, you’ll dig a hole in the ground with those sighs.”

Mia, helping Rosie get ready, scolded her.

“But do you really have to go? The rumor that you got dumped is all over already.”

“I have to.”

“I don’t think you should.”

Mia said, pinning Rosie’s hair with a reluctant expression.

The reason Rosie was up early and getting ready was to see Calvin.

She had found out he was attending a party at one of the Baron’s houses. She decided to try persuading Calvin again. She couldn’t let herself become a woman who’d been dumped five times in a row.

“Why is everyone so desperate to pair me and Theo together?”