BROKEN

A MONTH LATER.

ROSA'S POV.

I stared into space, my mind just as blank as my life. These past weeks have been the most challenging ones for me. Never in my life, had I thought that I'd lose someone I loved, even while they were still alive and breathing.

"Rosa!"

I jerked at the sound of my name, looking to the door to see who had called. Ralia.

"I have been calling your attention for a while now." She muttered, her expression a mix of worry and pity. Of course, my life was pitiable. From one period of sorrow, to an even worse one.

"Sorry, didn't hear you." I apologized, releasing a low sigh as I made to readjust my position on the bed, in a way that I'd be facing her. It was a bit difficult for me to achieve, seeing as I was very heavy with pup.

I was two months and one week gone, and was due anytime between two to three weeks from now. All the while, I had prayed that some sort of miracle would happen. That he would sudden come back to me alive and well.

I dreaded having this pup all alone, without his support. Hell! I dreaded living the rest of my life without him.

Why did he have to do this to me? Why did he have to leave me now?

"You're zoning out again." Ralia whispered, calling back my attention.

"Sorry." Was all I could manage to say. "Did you need anything?" I asked her, and she slowly shook her head in negation.

"But do I have to need something, before I come to check in on you, and know how you're faring?"

"Ralia, I'm fine...." I sighed, feeling half irritated and helplessly teary.

"I know that it is even more difficult for you to deal with the situation of things, now that Audrey has left. And it hurts even more, knowing I could never offer you the kind of comfort that she did. I feel totally useless."

"Don't say that." I blandly rebuked her, not really having the energy to convince her that her presence in this castle was more than enough for me.

Audrey and king Logan had eventually left for the palace a couple of days back, having spent a month with me after Guilford Kennedy had been apprehended.

The thought of his name alone, aggravated me to no end. He was the sole reason for my current predicament and emptiness. I was going to ensure that he died in the most gruesome way, for taking away the only person who made me feel alive.

My Ryan.

Oh, how I missed him.

"You cannot continue like this, Rosa." Ralia shook her head in disagreement.

"You will never understand, Ralia."

"Hell! I do, Rosa! He was my brother, remember?!"

"Is." I muttered.

"What?" Her brows scrunched up in confusion.

"'Is', Ralia. He is your brother. He is my mate."

Silence ensued between us for a couple of minutes, until she settled down beside me on the large bed.

"You're still hopeful." She whispered.

"You may have lost hope, Ralia. But I never will." I shook my head, tears clogging my eyes.

"It's been a month already, Rosa. We have tried everything possible. He is...."

"Don't you dare say that!" I lost composure in that moment, the anger within me, seriously pushing tears down my eyes.

"You don't want to accept the fact that he is gone Rosa, yet you have never paid a visit since we lost him. You haven't even thought it fine to feel his presence, at the very least."

"And make my heartache worse? Going to feel his presence, when I know that he'll never....." I quickly held back from saying the next words.

Ralia eyed me closely, giving a sad smile.

"Acknowledge it Rosa. He'll never come back to you. It truly does make reality dawn on you. That way, you face your fears and losses head on, and get over your heartbreak. It worked for me."

"So you have gotten over him already?" I asked, a bit of disbelief in my tone. I was truly disappointed.

"I would never forget my brother, Rosa. But atleast, I can accept the truth and bring myself to live for the other people in my life. I have two sons and a mate, Rosa. It would only be selfish on my part, that I lock myself away, depriving them of my presence in their lives. That would mean me acting dead, while alive. They don't deserve that. Neither does your pup and the many other people who care for you. Like your father." She added the last part, making my heart helplessly skip a beat.

"You had been so scared we'd lost Dean. But then, he managed to survive. Isn't he worth living for?" She asked, gently placing her index finger underneath my chin, and raising my face up. "Should he also be deprived of the pleasures of having to care for you and call you 'daughter'? You know, for a man who put his own life on the line to protect you, he deserves more." She said, a look of disappointment in her eyes.

In that moment, I felt a painful pang of guilt. I hated to admit that she was right about that.

"Please stop pushing him away whenever he comes to see you."

"You only heard he had survived the incident through the help of king Logan's blood. It's unfair that you haven't seen him for yourself since then. The man has tried to show you and give you all the love you have ever wanted from a father. Why treat him this way now....?"

"Ralia, stop!" I cut her off, unable to endure the pains I was feeling in my heart, as a result of all she said to me. It was the bitter truth.

"I will." She nodded, standing up from the bed. Weirdly, for the first time since everything happened, I wanted someone other than Audrey to stay back with me.

"Please stay." I whispered, bowing my head.

"I guess I will, after you decide whether or not you're accepting to see who is waiting outside to see you."

"What?" I softly asked, at loss.

"Dean MacQuoid is here." She revealed, making my eyes go wide in a combination of remorse and fear. What if he decided he didn't want me as a daughter anymore, because.....? "Actually, he's been here since the moment I stepped into your chambers."

Oh..... That was the actual reason she had come.

"So what's it gonna be?" She quipped. "Are you going to see him or not?"

"Please let him in." I nodded, and she turned to leave. Half a minute after she left, the door opened and my father walked in. I wasn't looking his way, but I could smell his scent.

A minute passed, and he hadn't made a move or said a word. My fear increased.

I raised my head in his direction, our eyes eventually locking with each other's. My heart broke the moment I saw the state he was.

In tears.

"Hi." He gave a small wave, that made my heart beat fondly. That was a feeling I had lost for sometime now.

I didn't know if it was the teary smile on his face, or the tenderness in his eyes, but in that moment I felt... alive.

"Heyyy... yyy..." My voice broke, tears falling from my eyes. This time, I tried to stand from my bed, but he beat me to it. He got onto the bed and engulfed me in a bear hug. "Please don't leave me too." I cried harder.

"Never. Never, my love." He assured, placing a chaste kiss on my neck. "It would take a huge force to pull me away from you. Not now that you're finally in my life."

"I'm so sorryyyy..." I sniffled, and he pulled away to look at my face. My eyes fell to my thighs as he closely observed me, cleaning the tears from my cheeks with the back of his hand.

"I could never make this about me, my darling. You recently lost your mate....." He trailed off, that look of sympathy in his eyes. "Oh, my dear girl." He sighed, rubbing my shoulders supportively. "I can't even imagine what you must be going through. I'm proud of you for staying so strong."

"He is not...." I hiccuped, cutting myself off. "Ryan isn't dead." I shook my head slowly, trying to believe my own words.

"Come here..." Father whispered, pulling me into himself once more. At some point, he readjusted our position in a way I could lay on him more comfortably.

After sometime, I eventually slept off in his arms.

***********

HOURS LATER.

I opened my eyes to see my father sitting across from me. He had a small smile on his face, and I felt bad that I just couldn't bring myself to reciprocate it.

"Have you been here?" I asked, looking out through the window to see it was already evening.

"Of course." He nodded. "I wouldn't go anywhere until I'm sure you're fine."

"I'm fine, Dad." I nodded, hoping I was convincing enough.

"I love to hear you call me that." His smile widened.

"Then I'd try to call you that more often."

"I would love that." He nodded, before pointing at the platter sitting on the table across the room. I was just noticing that.

"You should eat. I would love to take you for a stroll after that."

"A str.... stroll?" I stuttered. I hadn't stepped out of my chambers since that horrific night.

"Yes, my dear." He sighed. "You cannot keep yourself locked in here forever. It's been a month already."

"I doubt this way I feel will stop, even after a million years." I muttered, making to get up from my bed.

He quickly assisted me down the bed, and I made my way into the bathroom for a pee. After I had finished my business in there, I stepped out and sat in front of the table.

I guess eating was the only thing I had consciously put an effort into, this past month, knowing I couldn't be selfish to my pup.

After a while, I finished eating. All the while, my father just watched me closely, making me feel like a little child.

Just as I stood up to return to the bed, he blocked my path, making ne give him a pointed stared.

"Let's go." He said, but it sounded like a subtle command. And for reasons I didn't know, I found it difficult to disobey that order.

Letting him take my hand in his, he pulled me along and out of my chambers. For the first time in a while, I inhaled the different air outside of my chambers, and lazily walked hand in hand with my father as the castle guards all stared at us in shock.

I guess they all knew I had plans of never stepping out of my chambers again.

Father led us out to my favourite part of the castle. The garden.

Half an hour later, we had taken two trips round the garden, and I was finally out of breathe. It had been a silent stroll, but I was contented just being with him.

"Please can we take a rest now?" I begged, and he released a chuckle. My waist ached, and my feet were swollen.

"Sure." He nodded, leading me to one of the benches in the garden. He sat beside me, and we remained that way for abouf half an hour, until he broke the silence.

"Have you recovered your energy now?" He asked, and I nodded. "Good. I want to take you somewhere."

"Where?" I looked up at him.

"Somewhere you'd actually love to be." He slowly nodded in assurance. "Trust me." He added in a whisper, and I nodded. Helping me up from the bench, we walked together towards the second exit of the garden.

It was an unfamiliar route for me, because I always took the main exit. A lot of places in this castle were actually unfamiliar to me.

As soon as we went through the second exit, we continued walking down for some minutes, until we reached a familiar wing of the castle.

"The East wing?" I whispered, and he nodded. An instant chill ran down my spine, and his hold on my hand tightened, as if bracing me for what was about to come next. "No." I whispered, shaking my head in negation. "I don't want to." I halted my steps.

"Trust me, you want to." He calmly nodded. "You have to do this Rosa, in order to move on."

"I don't want to move on." Tears clouded my eyes, as he pulled me along, through the wing doors. The guards stationed there, all had this pitiful gazes on their faces, that made me feel so useless.

They pulled open the main doors, and father continued to pull my reluctant figure with him. He led me through the long hallway, until we came to a stop at the large doors of a room. Two soldiers guarded the place.

That was definitely the room where...

"Go in, Rosaline." Father pushed, but I stood unmoving. "Rosaline MacQuoid." He called my complete name for the very first time, a subtle reminder that I was his. His tone was a bit firm and pleading at the same time. "Please, darling." He urged softly.

I watched in a dazed manner as he signalled the guards to open the door, and gently pushed me in.

My heartbeat skyrocketed immediately, knowing I was about to lay my eyes on him again, after so long.

My eyes scanned the entire room, but didn't find the subject of my search. I released a sigh, which was an impossible combination of relieve and disappointment. Where was...

My thoughts were cut short when my eyes fell on the immobile figure sitting on a couch, which faced the open balcony.

My heartbeat accelerated, making me feel dizzy for some seconds. Just then, I heard the doors close behind me, leaving me alone in the room.

Well.... technically, I wasn't 'alone'.

I stood at that spot for minutes, mentally preparing myself for the confrontation I was about having.

Eventually, I got my legs moving in direction of the balcony, my eyes boring holes through the back of the couch. The moment I got close enough, my shaky hand stretched out to touch his shoulders, being greeted by the unbelievable level of cold his body emitted.

I took a closer look at his hand, and they looked soooo smooth. Like glass.

No, 'ice'.

I half expected him to place his hand over mine, but no such thing happened. I felt even more disappointed and angry at myself for thinking that a miracle could happen.

Bracing myself and gaining the courage I needed, I walked round the couch and came to stand before him.

As soon as I looked at his face, fresh tears filled my eyes. I hadn't seen him in so long, and I couldn't even believe I was standing there in that moment.

Knowing how disappointed I'd be eventually, I still nurtured the hope that he would pick me up and drop me on his thighs, rocking me while consoling me.

But, of course...

No such thing happened.

Cleaning away my tears and sniffling, I bent to his level with great difficulty, coming close enough to his face.

"Hello, my love." I whispered with a croaky voice, as his lifeless eyes bore into mine.