At that moment, Rose's mother's face hardened even further, and when she spoke again, her voice carried the sharp, clipped authority of someone who had reached the end of their patience and was now delivering what they believed to be the final word on the matter."So this is what you are doing now?" she said, and the question was not really a question at all but an accusation dressed up in interrogative clothing. "We are standing here trying to talk to you, trying to make you understand something for your own good, trying to help you see the situation clearly, and you are busy raising your shoulder at us? You are busy acting like we are the problem?" She shook her head sharply. "You say you are tired. You say you are exhausted from this conversation. Fine. If you are so tired of it, Rose, then there is a very simple solution. Divorce him. Let him go. Walk away from this marriage and move on with your life like a rational person would." Her voice grew colder. "That would be the best th

She looked at her daughter, and underneath the pride and the stubbornness and the anger, something raw was visible, just briefly, before she covered it over again. "When he left, when he abandoned you and walked away from this family for five years, who was there? Who made sure you had everything you needed? Who sat with you when you were pregnant and frightened and alone? Who made sure you did not lack anything, that Lily had what she needed, that you had what you needed?" She pressed one hand against her own chest. "We were. We were there. Every single day that he was nowhere to be found, we were there." Her voice cracked, just slightly, just once, before she steadied it. "And now he comes back with his words and his stories and his whatever it is he has been feeding you, and just like that, you are ready to walk away from us?" She shook her head, and the look in her eyes was something between fury and grief. "I am not going to beg you. I would never beg you. You are free to make

At that moment, upon hearing what Alex had said, Rose's mother and Rose's father looked at each other simultaneously. Something passed between them, an unspoken agreement, a shared recognition of what they were hearing. Then both of them turned their heads toward Alex, held his gaze for a long moment, looked back at each other again, and then in perfect unison, they simply shook their heads."What a mess," her father muttered."What an insult," her mother added immediately, her voice rising. "Just imagine. This good-for-nothing bastard is actually standing here, in front of us, telling us what we are going to do. Telling us what we should and shouldn't do. Has it really gotten this bad?" She threw her hands up briefly in exasperation. "Has Rose's disgrace reached this level? If not for her stubbornness, if not for her refusal to listen to a single word of wisdom we have tried to give her, this man would not even be in this house right now. He would not be standing here speaking to us

The hall was coming alive with the soft hum of conversation and the clink of glasses as more guests arrived, each new face bringing a fresh wave of greetings and pleasantries. The venue was elegant, decorated with warm gold tones and soft lighting that gave everything a welcoming, almost intimate feel despite the size of the space. Tables were arranged in a large semicircle around a central area where people mingled, and the air carried the mingled scents of perfume and freshly prepared appetizers.Serena stood near the entrance, her arms crossed loosely, her eyes scanning the doorway every few seconds with a patience that was beginning to wear thin at the edges. Beside her, Penelope leaned against a small table, her posture relaxed but her expression carrying the same quiet anticipation.Penelope leaned in slightly, lowering her voice so that only Serena could hear."Are you sure that she is going to come?" she asked, the words barely above a whisper, carrying a hint of genuine conce

"She is not here yet?" Naomi asked, and the question was quiet, almost casual, but the weight behind it was unmistakable.Serena shook her head, keeping her expression steady. "Not yet. But she will come. I am sure of it."Naomi nodded once, slowly, and said nothing further on the subject. But something in the set of her expression said that she was thinking about it, turning it over, waiting.Serena, for her part, felt the familiar mixture of amusement and exasperation that Rose so reliably produced in her, even in her absence."That husband of hers," Serena muttered, just low enough for Naomi to catch, "has a very large mouth and very grand ideas about himself. I am absolutely certain that whenever they decide to grace us with their arrival, there will be plenty of entertainment to go around."Naomi's lips curved slightly, an expression that said she had heard enough about both Rose and her husband to find this entirely plausible.Across the room, Jonathan had returned to a slightly