Page 49 of When We Fall: Part Two

“You won’t upset me,” I replied. “And I know Fox understands. Enzo and Cole… well, we can sort them. Enzo is better at understanding than Cole, but I know how much they both love and care about you. They won’t press you on it. We’re just happy you chose us. Grateful even.”

“I will always choose you.” She looked up at me, tears on her cheeks. It broke my damn heart that she was feeling this way.

“And I will always choose you.” I brushed my lips against hers before wiping away her tears. “Always, Rosalie. There will never be another woman out there whom I’d ever want. You’re the love of my life.”

She hugged me tightly.

My words were my truth. I loved her so damn much. She was my moon and stars. I was a mess of a person, and each time I felt like I was progressing as a good human, I’d stumble and fall, fucking everything up.

But she always stood by me. I wanted to be worthwhile to her. I wanted to prove I could handle my shit and be a good manfor her. Devoted. And maybe, someday, I’d be good enough to give her a baby.

It was a thought I kept cycling through my head. After talking to Cole about it, it made me think. Add to it that I’d seen how happy he was as he bought things for a baby online or in every shop we passed, I thought maybe I’d like to feel that way too.

It still terrified me, and I was in no way ready to be a father since I had a lot of work to do on myself, but the thought was starting to form. All I knew was that there wasn’t anyone else in this world I’d want to have a kid with. Rosalie was it for me. I meant that when I said it.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something? I’ll listen if you have a new song to show me.” My voice trailed off. She’d not been doing shit with her music. Maybe she thought I didn’t notice, but I did. She wasn’t singing while making dinner anymore. Not in the shower. Not bird watching with Cotton. Nothing. That was a huge red flag to me. It was scaring me.

“I don’t have anything new,” she whispered, pulling away from me and hugging herself.

That wasn’t normal. She was always working on something new.

“Um, how about we write a song together?” I ventured, desperate to bring her back to her passion.

She wiped at her eyes. “You want to write a song with me?”

I nodded. “I do. I think it might be fun. I have some ideas. I’m not great at the stuff, but I can play piano and show you what I have.” I winced. I dabbled in writing, but I was nowhere near the level Rosalie was. I’d probably look like an idiot showing her my stuff, but I was willing to do it if it got her excited again.

“I’d like that,” she said, wiping at her eyes again. “We don’t ever do that together.”

I smiled, relief flooding through me. “I’m not good at it, sweetheart, so be gentle with me.”

“Ethan, you’re always perfect to me.” She returned to me and brushed her lips across mine. “Can we go to the practice room?”

“Yes,” I said immediately.

“I’ll check the schedule.”

I watched her grab her phone and tap through the screen.

Fuck, please be open.I wasn’t above beating someone to get them out of there so she could have this.

“It’s open. I put my name in.” Her eyes shone brightly, a hint of excitement in them.

I exhaled. “Perfect. Get ready. I’ll grab my folder.”

She nodded excitedly, and I left to grab my stuff.

Quickly, I rifled through my desk and grabbed the folder where I kept all my random poems and thoughts. I never showed anyone this stuff. It was deeply personal to me, and I wasn’t great at expressing my feelings, but fuck it.

I went back to Rosalie’s room and found her grabbing her bag and reaching for her guitar. I snagged the guitar away from her quickly, making her smile a little.

“I got it,” I said, leading her downstairs. I sent a quick text to Cole to let him know we were leaving before leading her outside to my new Mercedes. I helped her in before getting behind the wheel and pulling out of the garage.

We drove in silence, our men falling in line behind us. Enzo made it a rule that if we left, someone would follow.

I caught Rosalie glancing in the rearview mirror, her body tense. I knew she hated this, but it was just our life now.

We drove in silence for a bit before her phone buzzed. I glanced over to see a smile on her face.