Chapter 6
The air in the hospital room was suffocating.
When Rowan arrived, Lena Morgan was propped against the headboard, staring blankly out the window, lost in thought.
Not wanting to disturb her, Rowan quieted her breathing and carefully sat on the edge of the bed, gently taking Lena's skeletal hand.
Lena didn't move. The light in her eyes gradually focused, and her hand weakly squeezed Rowan's back.
"Mom..."
Rowan couldn't hold back the word.
During all the time Lena had been lying in this hospital bed, she'd barely been holding on.
Sensing something, Rowan's grip tightened, as if she could somehow keep Lena from leaving.
Tears fell uncontrollably down Rowan's face. Lena's voice was hoarse as her gaze finally settled on her daughter. Her other hand lifted carefully to wipe away the tears, but the more she wiped, the more Rowan cried.
She could only sigh and try to comfort her. "Rowan, don't cry. Being able to wake up and see you one last time—Mom's already so happy."
Rowan shook her head. "Mom, please don't leave me."
Lena's eyes finally held more emotion—worry.
"Rowan, take care of yourself. Live well. Promise Mom—don't provoke the FitzRoy family. If you can, stay away from them. Leave Emerald City."
Lena's words made Rowan's heart plummet.
She'd already heard the conversation between Kingsley and Blake. What was she still hoping for?
Lena must be worried she'd try to get revenge for them.
Did Kingsley really hate her this much?
Tears streamed down Rowan's face. "Mom... I'm sorry..." If she hadn't gotten involved with Kingsley...
She'd humiliated Kingsley. Wasn't it enough for him to humiliate her back? Why did he have to go after her family?
With the FitzRoy family's power, even without destroying the Lavien family, even without ruining them completely, Kingsley could still humiliate her, couldn't he?
Lena's heart ached seeing her like this, but there was nothing more she could do. "Rowan, remember what Mom said."
With that, Lena seemed to have finally fulfilled her last wish. She slowly closed her eyes.
Rowan felt the hand holding hers gradually lose strength. She held her breath, trying to call out, refusing to believe. "Mom, are you tired?"
The only response was the heart monitor beginning to emit sharp, piercing beeps.
"Mom!" Hope shattered. Rowan shot to her feet. "Mom! Doctor! Doctor!"
Doctors and nurses rushed in.
Rowan's ears rang. Her vision blurred as she watched everyone moving in and out.
She didn't know how much time passed until the doctor announced the resuscitation had failed. The time of death seemed to echo clearly in her ears above all the chaos. She couldn't hold on anymore and fainted.
Half an hour later.
When Rowan woke, it was as if she'd suddenly accepted Lena's passing. With the nurses' help, she began arranging Lena's funeral.
Her grandma—Della came.
Cried.
Then left.
Della wanted to take her home.
Rowan refused.
She needed to stay with Lena.
Della was old. She couldn't keep vigil here. Rowan told Della to go home first and come back tomorrow.
Instinctively, Rowan wanted to contact Kingsley.
She'd just dialed his number when she snapped awake.
She must be insane.
Kingsley was different now.
Her parents—Luca and Lena, Kingsley had killed them.
Why would she want him here?
To comfort her?
He'd only mock her, humiliate her, maybe even laugh at her parents...
The phone screen went dark.
Rowan put down her phone, staring blankly at the freezer holding Lena.
Not many people came to the funeral. Rowan remained dazed throughout. When it ended, Della led her to the exit.
She refused to go home with Della. Kingsley clearly wasn't done with her. She couldn't drag Della into this.
But once Della left, she hesitated about where to go.
A news notification popped up. A familiar name made Rowan click it.
The classic gossip channel voice: "Emerald City's wealthiest man spares no expense to make his fiancée smile. The FitzRoy family and the Chambers family are closely connected. The power dynamics are shifting, and the Chambers family's status is rising. If I were the Chambers family, I'd be laughing in my sleep. Speaking of which, everyone must be curious why Emerald City's richest man's fiancée is from the Chambers family..."
Rowan didn't hear what came next. She closed her phone, staring into the distance.
Was she... forced into being a mistress?
Kingsley really knew how to humiliate her.
Rowan smiled bitterly.
Before she could process her consecutively shattered emotions, Kingsley—who'd demanded she stay within reach 24/7 but hadn't contacted her all day—suddenly appeared.
A Maybach slowly stopped in front of her. Through the lowered rear window, Kingsley stared at her expressionlessly. "Get in."
Hatred flashed in Rowan's eyes. Her voice was cold. "I need rest."
Kingsley sneered. "Rowan, when I haven't given you permission to rest, you don't get to rest."
"Kingsley, do you have to be this cruel? My mother died today!"
"So? Get in."
Rowan clenched her jaw.
"All your mother's expenses were covered by me. She's gone, but the debt remains."
Eyes red-rimmed, Rowan got in the car.
She settled into her seat, watching the privacy partition rise, and numbly began unbuttoning her blouse.
Kingsley let out a derisive laugh. "I don't sleep with ugly women. Right now, you don't interest me."
Rowan pressed her lips together. After a day and night of this ordeal, she was truly haggard.
She was grateful Kingsley had no interest in her now.
Lena had just left. Even if it was forced, she didn't want this.
Rowan turned away, staring at the rapidly moving scenery outside the window, motionless.
Kingsley frowned, his voice cold. "Don't go back to the villa for now. Stay at the Townhouse for a month."
"...Kingsley, let me go. I won't be a mistress."
"Do you have the right to choose?"
Rowan went to the Townhouse.
She could only be grateful that during her time there, Kingsley rarely had time to visit.
His fiancée must be keeping him occupied.
When the house felt too empty, Rowan would turn on the TV for the sound.
She heard the TV reporting on the FitzRoy family and Chambers family engagement party.
Ezra Chambers.
Kingsley's fiancée's name.
Pretty.
She didn't know anything more than that.
Rowan changed the channel before it finished.
She thought things would continue this way for now.
Until a week later, she received a call from Kingsley telling her to attend a party.
"So this is Ms. Lavien?" Ezra looked Rowan up and down. "Very pretty indeed. No wonder you became Kingsley's private secretary. I heard you've been unwell since our engagement. I was curious how conveniently you got sick right after that. I had Kingsley call you here to see if you're really sick. You don't mind, do you?"
Rowan shook her head. "Ms. Chambers is too kind."
"Since you're fine, and you're already here, pour us some drinks."
Rowan stood stubbornly still.
Ezra put on an innocent, confused expression. "Ms. Lavien, is there a problem? Don't twenty-four-hour private secretaries do these things? Or are you just not listening to me?" She clung to Kingsley's arm, shaking it. "Kingsley, look at her. I'm your fiancée. Can't I even get her to do this?"
Kingsley's sharp eyes swept toward Rowan. "Ezra's words are my words."
