Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter – 88 Ethan, Do You Know Soren?
**Ethan’s POV**
I stood there with the necklace extended, waiting for Rosalie to tell me whether or not she would accept it. She just stood in the moonlight, and she didn’t move.
I had never seen her as angry as she was a minute ago, when she had yelled at me and told me how she had felt about things back then.
I certainly couldn’t blame her. She had every right to be mad at me. In fact, she should’ve been even angrier than she was. If it had been me in her shoes, I would’ve been cursing and probably attacked the person before me. The fact that Rosalie only yelled and didn’t punch me was a testament to her good nature.
But I saw in her eyes as she stared at me, looking from the necklace that she sold to my face and back again, that she was not ready to accept my apology.
She was not ready to forgive me, and I shouldn’t have expected her to.
It was wrong of me to a*s*sume that she could move on so quickly after what I did. After all, I was going to have her put to death after our baby was born.
Not only was I going to end her life, but I was also going to sentence our child to a life without their mother.
I suddenly felt the very real possibility that she might refuse me.
With this realization, I was stricken with panic. I needed to do something before she could turn me down.
“Rosalie,” I say, withdrawing the necklace, “you don’t have to decide right now. I recognize that it’s too soon. I’m sorry that I put so much pressure on you to give me an answer immediately. That wasn’t fair of me. I will give you the time you need and deserve to decide… but I would like to continue to see you.”
Again, before she could say anything I was afraid to hear, I added, “Please.”
“Who are you?” she finally said, her brow furrowed. “The Ethan I know would’ve never, ever apologized twice in the same night.”
I looked down at the ground, rubbing the toe of my shoe into the soft soil of the garden for a moment, not sure how to respond to that.
She was right. I didn’t think I’d ever apologized to anyone else the way I had her that evening.
“I’ve changed too, Rosalie. Maybe not toward everyone, but I’ve changed toward you.”
The skeptical look on her face was visible even in the dim light of the moon that illuminated her hair and made her
look even more lovely than usual. She made a noise in the back of her throat, a mix between a grunt and a moan. I wanted to move forward and touch her, but I held back, knowing she wouldn’t like that.
“I know it will take you some time to forgive me, Rosalie. Overhearing what you did, knowing what I planned to do…”
I couldn’t even get the words out. I could only look down at the ground again and wish I had made better choices in my past.
“I can hardly forgive myself. I wouldn’t expect you to simply brush it aside and pretend it never happened.”
“I can’t,” she said, and I respect her honesty. “What you were going to do was-” She began to tear up, and stopped talking.
“It was heartless,” I supplied for her.
“It was cruel.” Her head rocked back and forth in agreement.
“I’m sorry.” That was all I could say.
She looked away. When she spoke again, her words were unsure.
“And now… you want me to give up everything I have here and just go back to the same place I was before? The same life?”
I shook my head. “No, it wouldn’t be the same. I can promise you that. I’m not the same.”
“Why should I believe you?” she asked, still skeptical.
I sighed. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but at least she was willing to give me the chance to explain.
I tried to make myself sound as gentle as possible. “You shouldn’t believe me.”
Her eyes flew wide open with surprise.
“Do not take me at my word, but let me prove it to you through my actions.”
She didn’t respond, only looked at me quietly, so I continued, “You should take as much time as you need to do that.”
She finally asked, “how are you going to prove it to me?”
Luckily, I already had my answer. “With your help,” I said.
“My help?” She was even more skeptical.
“Yes. I want to learn more about you so that I can give you what you want,” I told her. “I want to hear everything about your new life.”
It pained me to think about how her eyes had lit up when she spoke about Soren earlier, but I needed to show her I could control my anger, and that I was interested in whatever made her happy.
“If at any point you decide you’re done, that you’ve made up your mind, and you are through with me… I’ll go away.”
It ripped at my heart to even say such a thing, but I knew that I would do it if I had to.
Somehow.
But I couldn’t allow that to happen. I’d have to find a way to prove to her that I was the right one for her, and that, if she loved me once, she could love me again. I never, ever wanted to go back to the pain I’d felt before when I thought that she was gone.
Even thinking about it made my heart ache, despite the fact that she was standing right in front of me.
I could hardly even believe that she was here, that I could stretch out my arms and- but I still couldn’t reach her. I couldn’t touch her.
Because she wasn’t mine.
“I don’t want to have to have that conversation with you, Ethan,” she said, her voice just a whisper. “What if you get mad? You would probably kill me…”
My heart broke into a thousand pieces knowing what she thought of me. And the sad fact was, I couldn’t blame her for saying that. She didn’t know the power she had over me.
But the most urgent thing right now was to think of a way around her doubt.
I shook my head. “No. If you decide you don’t want to see me anymore, then keep the window closed.” She looked at me, a little bit confused.
“If the window is open, I’ll know you still want to see me- but if it’s closed, I’ll go away. It’s as simple as that.” I spoke in the gentlest voice, as if approaching a frightened deer. “Would you do that for me?”
It took her a moment, but then Rosalie nodded.
“I suppose so. I’m just… nervous, Ethan. I don’t want to get hurt by you again. It’s taken me a longtime to be able to move on. Now, I’m here, and I’ve started over. If you find a way to suck me back into your world and end up breaking my heart again… I’m not sure I’d survive. But then… I’m also not sure that would matter to you.”
“Of course, it would matter to me, Rosalie.” I looked her straight into the eyes as I spoke. “You and the baby mean more to me than anything.”
After letting out a loud sigh, she finally said, “Fine. I’ll try. But if the window is closed, you have to go away.”
A rush of joy ran through me. It wasn’t ideal, but it was more than enough for now.
I nodded. “I promise.”
Her eyes went to the cottage. “I should go. I have to work tomorrow.”
I knew that all of the oxygen would be pulled from my lungs the moment she left.
“What’s your job now?” I asked her, not wanting her to go. The moment she walked away from me, I knew the pain in my heart would start to radiate throughout my body again. I needed to be with her, to be close to her.
“I watch over someone’s home while he’s away,” she said.
I wanted to know more about her relationship with Soren, but I didn’t ask further questions.
I had to be very careful not to let Rosalie know that I had a history with the man- or my other purpose for being on the island.
“He’s been tremendously helpful to me, Ethan. I ran into some trouble when I first got to the islands, and he was the one to help me. He has provided me with a home, a job, and a… friendship.”
When she mentioned “friendship”, she had a mild smile on her face. A smile that I hadn’t seen the entire time I was with her… as it more than that?
“You must… really like him,” I knew I should’ve avoided this topic, but I couldn’t help it.
“Soren is one of the kindest, most giving, most loving people I’ve ever met in my life,” she said- and it was all I could do to keep from shouting at her that she was wrong, that she was being tricked, and she needed to run far, far away.
But I knew telling her those things under the circumstances would only make her hate me and like him even more.
All of sudden, as if she realized something, she turned to me and narrowed her eyes.
She stepped back, and she asked me in a serious tone, “Speaking of that… Ethan, tell me one thing.”
I had a bad feeling about what she was about to say, but I maintained my smile. “Of course.”
“Do you know Soren?”
That was the last question I wanted to answer right now.
What was I supposed to say? That, yes, he was my half-brother, and he had without a doubt approached her and the baby because he had some scheme in mind? That the new life she thought she’d been living was just something Soren fabricated for her, and it wasn’t real? That I was here to kill Soren and ruin the dream life she thought she had finally built?
No, I couldn’t possibly let her know that. Innocent as she was, I couldn’t imagine how heartbroken she would be. I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her like that again.
She was waiting for my answer nervously.
What should I say?