Chapter 102. The Accent

Chapter 102. The Accent
Samantha has been present from the very beginning, long before any relationship developed between Roxanne and the older woman lying beside her now. She has heard Alexandra Romanov's name so many times over the past four years that she eventually begins joking that she deserves a proper introduction.

After all, if she has to listen to Roxanne talk about the same woman for years, the least Roxanne can do is let them meet or at least let her see her face in real time.

As the daughter of the largest ranch owner in the county, Samantha grows up only a few miles away from the Stephen Homestead. Their families have known each other for years, and although their lives take very different directions after high school, their friendship only becomes stronger after Roxanne leaves Texas.

Once she heard that Roxanne left for Texas because her uncle adopted her, they started to talk more. She helped as much as she could to take care of Roxanne's two younger siblings. Long before Madelyn talked to Roxanne about the debt collector, it was always Samantha who stepped up to help protect Roxanne's siblings, along with her four brothers.

Distance never seems to matter between them. Whenever life becomes too heavy to carry alone, whenever Roxanne feels homesick, or whenever her feelings for Alexandra become too overwhelming for her to sort through by herself, Samantha is always the first person she calls. More often than not, they simply eat together through a video call.

Samantha usually sits on the porch outside her family's ranch house with a plate balanced on her lap, while the endless pasture stretches behind her beneath the warm Texas sun. Horses graze lazily in the background, cattle wander across the fields, ranch hands drive pickup trucks between fences, and every now and then the sound of a distant tractor or a neighing horse drifts through the phone speaker.

On the other side of the screen, Roxanne sits alone in her penthouse overlooking the city skyline or in one of the quiet courtyards of her prestigious boarding school, surrounded by polished stone buildings, manicured gardens, and a world that feels impossibly far away from home.

Strangely, those ordinary scenes from the ranch become a comfort. Watching horses graze across familiar fields while Samantha complains about broken fences, stubborn cattle, or her father's latest business idea makes Roxanne feel, if only for an hour, that she has never really left Texas. It reminds her of the life she loses and the home she still misses.

And somewhere during almost every conversation, the topic inevitably circles back to Alexandra. Roxanne talks about the same woman over and over again, sometimes with admiration, sometimes with frustration, and sometimes with a heartbreak she tries very hard to hide.

Samantha listens through every version of the story without complaint, patiently watching her best friend fall in love with the same person over and over again, even during the times Roxanne insists she is finally ready to let her go.

This woman, who is supposed to be Roxanne’s stepmother, has been chasing her away for years—putting distance between them, being harsh, and doing things that frustrate Roxanne.

She listens when Roxanne first describes Alexandra as someone impossibly composed, intimidatingly intelligent, and far too beautiful for her not to fall in love with. She listens when admiration slowly grows into affection before Roxanne even realizes what's happening.

She also listens every single time Roxanne convinces herself that she's finally ready to let Alexandra go, only to spend the next hour talking about her all over again. Especially when Roxanne decided to date Larry Wellington, which only happened in a short time before she called it off.

Then come the heartbreaks. Samantha is there after every disappointment, every misunderstanding, every time Roxanne returns looking as if someone has slowly taken the air out of her lungs. She has lost count of how many evenings the two of them spend talking nonsense on the phone or how many nights she had to listen to Roxanne whining while drinking her sorrow with grape juice while Roxanne tries to convince herself that loving Alexandra Romanov is a hopeless idea.

For four years, Samantha has watched her best friend fall for the same woman over and over again. Naturally, she has absolutely no intention of wasting the first opportunity to see her.

“Stay here with yer brother,” she says with an amused smile. “I’ll give yer sister back in a minute.” Madelyn looks confused but nods anyway, her attention returning to the sleeping Caleb.

"Can't believe she listens to you that well." Samantha can hear Roxanne's voice muttered on the phone.

Once the door closes behind her, Samantha walks a short distance down the hallway until she finds a quiet corner beside a large window overlooking the hospital parking lot. Leaning comfortably against the wall, she adjusts the phone before a mischievous grin slowly spreads across her face.

“Now,” she says, looking straight into the camera, “I wanna see the face of the woman who done broke your heart for four whole years—the same woman you been chasin’ after all that time—and the woman who keeps on givin’ me trouble ‘cause ever’ conversation somehow circles right back to her.”

Roxanne immediately groans. "Oh, come on." Her face turns bright red as she instinctively hides under the blanket.

Alexandra, meanwhile, just sounded amused. "Oh," she says, unable to suppress a laugh.

Before Roxanne can protest any further, Alexandra gently reaches over and takes the phone from her hand. "Allow me."

The camera tilts upward. For the first time, Samantha finally sees the woman whose name has become almost legendary inside their friendship. Samantha isn't just staring at the pictures from the news or from Roxanne's penthouse visit to New York a few years ago; she can see her directly via video call.

Her jaw quite literally drops. The woman on the screen has slightly messy platinum-blonde hair that catches the morning sunlight pouring through the balcony curtains. The soft golden light outlines every loose strand, making the pale color seem almost luminous.

She's lying naked under a blanket, without any obvious effort to impress, yet there's an elegance about her that can't be hidden by the simple cover or her slightly tousled hair. Her features are refined without looking delicate, her eyes calm and observant, and the relaxed confidence with which she holds herself explains far more than every story Roxanne has ever tried to tell.

For several seconds, Samantha simply stares. Then she lets out a slow whistle. "Oh wow..."

She shakes her head in complete disbelief. “No wonder you been pinin’ after her.”

Roxanne lets out another embarrassed groan from somewhere beside Alexandra. "Samantha..."

“Ah’m serious.” She laughs, still staring at Alexandra through the screen.

“You’re a masterpiece, lady.” Alexandra smiles, the compliment clearly catching her by surprise.

"I see why the two of you are best friends." There's warmth in her voice rather than arrogance, and that alone tells Samantha almost everything she wants to know.

Roxanne has spent years describing Alexandra as brilliant and intimidating, but no amount of storytelling prepares her for how naturally gentle the woman seems when she looks at Roxanne. Without lingering in front of the camera any longer, Alexandra returns the phone to its rightful owner.

The screen fills with Roxanne's flushed face once again. For several long moments, neither woman says a word. Samantha raises one eyebrow as Roxanne immediately shakes her head. Then Samantha narrows her eyes while Roxanne presses her lips together, trying very hard not to smile.

Years of friendship allow them to hold an entire conversation without speaking a single sentence. Finally, Samantha sighs dramatically. “Ah’ve spent four years tellin’ ya to move on.”

Roxanne says nothing. Samantha glances once more toward the edge of the screen where Alexandra is now comfortably leaning against the headboard again. " “Turns out,” she says with an amused smile, “ya’ve got exceptionally good taste.”

This time, Roxanne can't hold back her grin. She ducks her head in embarrassment, but the smile refuses to leave her face. Beside her, Alexandra lets out a chuckle, looking far more amused than flustered. Somehow, surviving Samantha's inspection feels oddly satisfying.

Roxanne has spent four years telling stories and crying her heart out about the woman beside her, and now that the two have finally met, the approval from the one person who has witnessed every chapter of that journey feels like a much more major turning point than Alexandra expects.

The laughter gradually settles into a comfortable silence before Alexandra speaks again. "There's something I've been wondering."

Samantha waits expectantly. "How come Roxanne doesn't have an accent like yours?" Alexandra asks, genuinely curious. "I remember the first time we met, I never once thought she grew up in Texas. She speaks... well, I suppose what people would call a fairly neutral American accent."

Samantha laughs immediately. “Aw, that’s easy.”

She shifts against the wall, smiling toward Roxanne. “It’s 'cause this 'un here, her momma ain’t Texan.”

Alexandra raises an eyebrow. “Robert was born an’ raised right here, same with his folks before him. You can hear it ever’ time he opens his mouth.” Samantha smiles. “But Amelia comes from outta state. She never did pick up the local accent, an’ the kids mostly grow up listenin’ to both of ‘em. Roxanne, Madelyn, an’ Caleb all end up soundin’ a whole lot closer to their momma than their daddy.”

She shrugs casually. “Ah guess that’s just what happens when yer hearin’ two different ways of speakin’ ever’ day. Children usually picks up their momma’s accent more’n their dads’.” Alexandra nods slowly, turning the information over in her mind.

“Ah bet Brandon still got his accent.” Samantha laughs as she says it.

"Oh, he does." She glances sideways at Roxanne before continuing.

"You can barely hear it most of the time because he spends years in New York and London, but the moment he talks to Robert..." She chuckles softly. "It's like someone transports both of them back to Texas."

"Now that you mention it," Alexandra says thoughtfully, "I never actually considered that before."

She reaches over and absentmindedly takes her phone from the bedside table and starts texting someone, as she muttered. "So Amelia isn't Texan." The statement is quiet, almost contemplative.

Then she looks back toward Samantha, tilting Roxanne's phone to get a better angle before asking, "Do you happen to know where she's originally from?"

Roxanne recognizes that tone immediately, Alexandra is no longer simply making conversation. She's collecting information.