Chapter 156: Roses

Cecilia

The landing at the private airfield was smooth. I watched through the window as the familiar landscape of the East Coast came into view—Black Peak Estate sat like a fortress overlooking the ocean.

The jet taxied to a stop, and within minutes we were in the SUV heading toward the estate, Ethan driving with his usual efficient silence while Arthur and I sat in the back, our hands linked together on the seat between us.

The gates swung open as we approached, and I felt something in my chest loosen at the sight of the house rising from the clifftop.

Mrs. Chen was waiting at the entrance, her face breaking into a warm smile the moment she saw us. "Welcome home, Miss Locke, Mr. Winston. We've prepared everything just as you requested."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chen." Arthur's arm came around my waist, steadying me as we climbed the steps. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir. The entire estate is filled with pink roses, just as you specified." Her eyes twinkled with something that looked like knowing amusement. "Though I must say, the gardeners were quite surprised by the request."

I looked at Arthur, confusion and curiosity mixing in equal measure. "Pink roses?"

The moment we stepped inside, I understood what Mrs. Chen had meant.

The entire house was filled with roses—massive arrangements in crystal vases on every available surface, garlands draped along the staircase railing, petals scattered across the floors like pink snow.

"You did all this?" I asked, my voice coming out smaller than I intended. "I thought you'd been angry with me this whole time."

"I had it arranged before we left London." His hand found mine again, threading our fingers together. "I was indeed angry. But Ceci, your courage and integrity make you worthy of the finest roses in the world. Time was limited, so I regret I only managed to decorate the manor grounds."

I turned to face him. This man who loved me, whom I loved deeply, stirred my heart endlessly. "Arthur, you deserve all of this too."

"You are the most precious and beautiful treasure I own." Arthur pressed a kiss atop my hair.

He pulled me against his chest, his arms wrapping around me with that particular combination of gentleness and possession that was uniquely his. "Now come on—you need to rest. Doctor's orders."

"I've been resting for a week," I protested, but I let him guide me toward the staircase anyway, too exhausted to really argue.

We made it to our bedroom. Arthur helped me out of my shoes, his hands gentle on my ankles, then pulled the covers up over me with the kind of care usually reserved for something fragile and precious.

"Sleep," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Promise?" I asked, already feeling consciousness start to slip away.

"Promise."

I woke feeling Arthur wrap his arms around me, his soft lips gently caressing my cheek.

The room was dark except for the soft glow of moonlight streaming through the windows, casting everything in shades of silver and shadow.

"Hey," I murmured, my voice rough with sleep. "How long was I out?"

"About six hours." His voice was quiet, intimate in the darkness.

I shifted to face him. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked, reaching up to trace the line of his jaw with my fingers.

"Didn't want to." He caught my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm. "Wanted to watch you."

I pulled him close and pressed my lips firmly against his.

Arthur

Three days later.

The reports blurred together on my laptop screen, meaningless columns of numbers that should have demanded my full attention but couldn't hold it for more than thirty seconds at a time.

I glanced at my phone again. Still nothing since Ceci's text two hours ago: Visiting the Rose family. Delivering that box. Will update you soon.

The Rose family. Sophia's parents. Audrey Rose—the woman whose name had appeared in those Grey family files, who'd been held captive for months fifteen years ago and had come back broken in ways that still affected her daughter.

I should have gone with her.

But Ceci insisted I come to the company, saying there was work for me to handle. She told me she would explain everything to me when she got back tonight.

My phone buzzed. Finally.

Still at the Rose house. Mrs. Rose wants me to stay for dinner. Might not head back home. Don't wait up.

I stared at the message, my jaw clenching so hard I felt my teeth grind together.

It had been three days since we'd returned from London. Three days of Ceci being constantly busy with something—visiting Alice, checking on Daniel's recovery, running errands that seemed to multiply every time I asked about her schedule.

And now this. Dinner at the Rose estate, staying late, not coming home.

I knew I was being irrational. Knew that Ceci had every right to visit friends, to help people who needed her, to have a life that didn't revolve entirely around me and my paranoid need to keep her within arm's reach at all times.

My fingers typed the words slowly: Okay. Be safe. Love you.

The words felt inadequate, a pale shadow of what I actually wanted to say: Come home. Please. I need to see you, to touch you.

My phone rang almost immediately. Ceci's name flashed on the screen, and I answered before the second ring.

"Hey," her voice came through warm and slightly apologetic. "I know you're probably annoyed that I'm staying late again—"

"I'm not annoyed," I lied, forcing my voice to stay level. "I just miss you."

"I miss you too." I could hear the smile in her voice, and it made something in my chest loosen slightly. "But Arthur, you should see Mrs. Rose. She's—god, she's so much happier than I expected. When I first got here with the box, she was having an episode. Screaming, crying, completely lost in whatever trauma the Grey family left her with."

My hand tightened on the phone. "Is she okay now?"

"Yeah. Mr. Rose calmed her down—he's so gentle with her, Arthur. So patient. And then when she opened the box and saw what was inside—" Ceci's voice got softer, more emotional.

"It was a ring. Her engagement ring from Mr. Rose. She'd lost it when she came back from England fifteen years ago, and she's been mourning that loss all this time."