Rosalie Gaston POV

The way he held his guns said everything. They demanded my truth, forced me to confess right there and then. But something held me back. Something stopped me.

For a moment, I forgot I had just stepped out of the shower. I didn’t expect to have a conversation with the owner of this mansion the man I was meeting for the very first time. He was tall. Regal. Handsome. His eyes were sharp, his face carved from ice.

“It’s just an allergy. Nothing like what you’re thinking.”

My voice came out as a whisper, thin and shaky. His brow tightened, and the space between his eyes grew more severe. He dragged his thumb across his skin slowly, then rasped, “And I’m not as stupid as you think.”

I chose silence. I wasn’t about to tell him the truth about the violence I had endured. To me, he was just a stranger. A stranger who knew nothing about me, who held no ties to my life.

“Believe whatever you want. I’ve told you the truth.”

I stepped back slowly, burning with embarrassment. He still stared at me, unconvinced, as his thumb finally dropped away.

“Excuse me,” I muttered.

But he caught my hand. His grip was firm, overwhelming. He leaned close to my ear and growled, “Little one, go put some clothes on. Right now. Stop wandering around in that tiny towel that barely covers your thighs!”

Heat exploded through me. For the first time in my life, I was drowning in shame. My heart stuttered as I looked into his eyes, torn between melting into them and running away. I chose to ignore him.

The walk to Sally’s room wasn’t far. I almost ran when I heard her voice, pulling me away from the stranger’s piercing gaze.

Her eyes darted toward the towels I carried. “Thanks for bringing them, Rosalie. I’ll put them in the closet. Go inside and grab something decent to wear.”

Her pupils flickered toward the man standing behind me. She blinked fast when she noticed him.

“You’re back early from work, brother?”

His deep, rough hum filled the air. “There’s something I need to discuss with you and Daniel after I return.”

I tried to slip away, but Sally gently pulled me forward, smiling warmly. “She just needed a shower after a little water accident. Forgive her. You can scold Daniel later if you want.”

I swallowed hard, waiting for his reaction. To my shock, he only said calmly, “She already told me. I know.”

He wasn’t like my violent brother. And that… was comforting.

“But we haven’t been introduced, have we?”

His hawk-like eyes locked on mine. They burned deep, pulling me in. I snapped out of my trance only when Sally nudged my arm.

“My name is Rosalie. I’m a junior in high school.”

His brows lifted in surprise. “I thought you were still in middle school!”

That stung a little. “I’m not in middle school, Mr. Leonardo.”

He studied me longer, like he was testing how much blush my cheeks could hold before I burst. When I dropped my gaze to the floor, he rumbled low, “Consider it just my perspective.”

Then, with a sly tilt of his neck, he leaned closer, his voice teasing, “You would’ve been in a much worse spot if you were twice your age. Imagine me calling you ‘little one’ when you’re thirty.”

My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe he said that. Was he mocking me?

“I don’t want to imagine that!”

He straightened to his full height, his eyes gleaming with quiet calm.

That’s when it hit me, I was still standing there in nothing but a black bath towel. My shoulders, my knees, everything exposed.

“I’m going,” I blurted out.

I stumbled away, nearly tripping over my own feet, the embarrassment cutting me open like a blade. This was a moment my enemies would savor.

Inside Sally’s room, my eyes caught on her elegant clothes hanging neatly in the closet. The more I reached for a pair of jeans or a T-shirt, the more shocked I grew at how short and revealing they all were.

“What am I supposed to wear, oh God?”

In the end, I chose plain black jeans and a modest white T-shirt. I slipped on my shoes quickly, just as Daniel called from outside the door, “I just finished.”

He smiled politely, stepping aside to let me walk first. I gave him a cheerful look and followed his lead.

“There’s still plenty of time. I promise we’ll have fun before six, Rose.”

His words made me smile as I stepped onto the stairs. But then my eyes caught a pair of dazzling ones in the living room. Leonardo. Sitting on the couch, watching. My foot almost slipped.

“That’s my father,” Daniel whispered, his chest pressing lightly against the back of my head as he steadied me. “People don’t meet him easily.”

My breath caught.

“You already met him with Sally,” I murmured. “After my shower. What a legendary introduction…”

Daniel paused, trying to process what I’d just said. “After the shower? Wow. That’s one hell of a first meeting.”

I avoided Leonardo’s gaze, my face burning. “I hate these situations. But they keep chasing me everywhere.”

His father stood, rising with the grace of a man completely in control. He was calm, balanced. And devastatingly handsome.

“Would you excuse us for a moment, Rosalie?”

The way he said my name. The way his eyes lingered. My heart nearly broke free from my chest. I had never felt this weak before a man.

Daniel stiffened behind me. His jaw clenched tight, his hand curling into a fist. For a second, I thought he would yell at his father. Instead, he inhaled sharply, battling the storm inside him.

“Of course. I’ll be outside.”

Time was slipping. I had no choice but to leave with Daniel. His hand brushed lightly against my arm.

“Five minutes,” he whispered. “I’ll catch up with you.”