Roselle’s POV
“Papa…”
His voice was filled with genuine seriousness as he stared at Silas, his face carrying a mixture of frustration, annoyance, and expectation.
“Please give me a nickname.”
“Hmm.” Silas stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“This matter of your new nickname is indeed of great importance and significance,” he began, his expression completely serious despite the obvious amusement in his voice.
“Don’t you think so?” He turned toward me.
I was slightly surprised that he had decided to join in on the fun, especially since he was now dragging me into it.
“You’re right,” I replied, nodding solemnly.
“You know, it took me several days to come up with a suitable nickname for Jasmine.”
“Really?” Jeremy asked, looking slightly skeptical.
“I guess that means my nickname must be very special, Mommy. How long did it take you to come up with mine?” Jasmine stared at me expectantly.
I couldn’t believe they had both fallen for my lie.
But I had already started, so there was no turning back now.
I kept my expression completely serious.
“Come closer. This isn’t something I usually tell people, and I don’t want everyone else overhearing us.”
Both children immediately leaned closer.
I lowered my voice, maintaining the same serious tone.
“It took me a whole week to come up with Jasmine’s nickname.”
Their eyes widened slightly.
“Let me tell you something. Any name can be given, but not every name should be given.” I paused dramatically.
“Do you know why?”
“And why is that?” Jeremy asked.
I took a deep breath, relieved that I had managed to come up with something convincing.
“Because names carry power.”
Both children listened intently.
“The more powerful a name is, the more powerful the person can become. So even if it is only a nickname, it can’t just be chosen randomly.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened.
“What happens if you don’t take enough time to come up with a suitable name?” She leaned closer.
“Or what if you give someone a weak name?”
“Well…” I cleared my throat.
“I can’t say for sure.” I paused and pretended to think deeply.
“But the last time I heard of something like that happening…” I stopped.
Both children waited.
I slowly shook my head as though I had decided that perhaps I shouldn’t tell them.
“All I can say is that it never ends well.”
Jasmine and Jeremy immediately fell silent.
They both looked deep in thought.
I almost laughed.
Apparently, my story had worked.
After a few seconds, Jeremy turned toward Silas.
“Papa, don’t rush yourself. Think very carefully about my nickname.” He paused.
“No.” He suddenly shook his head.
“Thinking carefully isn’t enough. Think about it for two weeks so you can come up with a stronger name than hers.” He pointed toward Jasmine.
Jasmine merely scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“I think that would be better,” Silas replied with complete seriousness.
Before either child could continue their argument, a maid approached us.
“Master, Young Master, and Young Miss, food has been prepared and placed at their table.” She bowed slightly.
“Should I take them there, or would you prefer that I bring their meals here?”
I watched Silas carefully.
I had been waiting for this moment.
If he allowed Jeremy to eat the food prepared for him, then I would know Jasmine could safely eat hers as well.
But if he refused to let Jeremy eat the same food prepared by the staff, I would not hesitate to intervene.
“Take them to their table,” Silas instructed.
“And after they are done eating, ensure they return to their rooms, freshen up, and prepare for bed.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Please show us the table,” Jasmine said to the maid.
The maid pointed toward a smaller table that had been prepared specifically for the two children.
Jasmine looked at Jeremy.
Then a mischievous smile spread across her face.
“The last one to reach the table is the weakest!” Before Jeremy could react, she took off running.
“That’s not fair! That’s cheating!” He immediately chased after her.
Jasmine was already several steps ahead, laughing loudly as she raced toward the table.
I watched them disappear toward their seats.
I couldn’t believe how much happier Jasmine seemed after only a few hours of being here.
Earlier today, she had been worried about whether Jeremy would like her.
Now she was already racing him across the room and calling him weak.
A small smile found its way onto my face.
I turned toward Eva, who had been standing quietly behind me, watching everything with a smile of her own.
“Go and look after both of them, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Eva followed after the children, leaving me alone with Silas and the rest of the room.
As she left, I turned my attention back to Silas.
“I arranged for Eva to look after both Jasmine and Jeremy in my absence as their nanny,” I told him.
“I can assure you she is good with children. She has been Jasmine’s nanny for a long time now.”
“As long as she is good at her job, then I trust your judgment,” he replied.
I was surprised.
Silas had told me that he was entrusting his son to my care, but I never expected him to actually trust my judgment without even questioning it.
Then again, I had just done the same thing.
I had trusted his judgment enough to allow Jasmine to go to another table with his son and eat without me watching over them.
Perhaps we both understood the same simple thing.
As long as we loved our children and would never knowingly put them in harm’s way, then the other child would be safe too.
After that, we continued eating in complete silence.
Around us, however, the celebration continued.
Music played in the background, and a few guests had even gotten up to dance.
The entire hall was lively, filled with the kind of celebration I had almost forgotten was possible in a place like this.
Before long, I spotted Eva and the other maid heading toward the exit with Jasmine and Jeremy.
They were probably taking them to their rooms for the night.
It was getting late.
Not long after they disappeared, Silas’s voice reached my ears.
“It’s late. It’s time we retire too. They will probably continue like this until the dead of night, so there is no reason for us to remain.” He stood as he spoke and held out his hand toward me.
“Okay,” I replied.
I placed my hand in his, and he helped me to my feet.
He then led me through the doors and into the hallway.
We walked in silence, passing several doors as we made our way through the estate.
I had no idea what was behind most of them, and I found myself wondering how large this place really was.
Eventually, we climbed several flights of stairs before stopping in front of a large door.
Even without being told, I already knew where we were.
The master bedroom.
I had assumed I would be given a separate room, just as things had been at the DeLuca estate.
Apparently, I had been mistaken.
Silas opened the door and walked inside.
The room was spacious and beautifully decorated, but unlike the brighter rooms I had seen earlier, this one carried a darker tone that suited Silas perfectly.
A large bed stood at the center of the room, while another door led to what I assumed was the private bathroom.
My eyes returned to the bed.
And then the realization hit me.
This was my first night as a newlywed.
There was no reason to believe that Silas and I would simply sleep beside each other tonight.
We were married.
And somehow, the thought of being intimate with him both frightened me and excited me at the same time.
I had never experienced anything like this before.
“Would you like to shower?” Silas asked, breaking the awkward silence.
I immediately thought about the possibility of him touching me or kissing my sweaty body, and the thought made me uncomfortable.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
“I would love to shower first.”
“Okay.” He turned toward another door.
“There are two bathrooms. I use the one with the darker tone, while the other has a lighter tone.” He opened the door and led me inside.
“This one is yours.”
I looked around.
The bathroom was beautiful, decorated in lighter shades that made it feel completely different from his side.
Silas then pointed toward another door.
“That is your walk-in closet. Mine is the one beside it. Darker tone, of course.”
I glanced inside the closet.
There were already a few things arranged there.
I wondered whether he had filled it with clothes for me or if my belongings had already been brought over.
“I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said.
With that, he walked away and gave me the privacy I needed.
I immediately began undressing.
Once I was completely undressed, I stepped into the shower and let the warm water run over me.
But even as I bathed, my mind returned to the same thought.
Intimacy.
I knew nothing about it.
I had no experience whatsoever.
And that realization made me nervous.
What would Silas think when he discovered just how inexperienced I was?
Would he be disappointed?
Would he find it strange?
I had no idea.
I quickly finished showering and stepped out, taking a robe from inside the bathroom and wrapping it around myself.
Then I walked into the closet.
The moment I stepped inside, I realized my questions had already been answered.
All of my belongings were there.
Everything I had owned at the DeLuca estate had already been brought over and carefully arranged for me.
I stared at it for a moment.
He had prepared everything after I had arrived.
I pushed the thought aside and picked out a simple two-piece nightwear, a top and a pair of trousers.
After putting them on, I headed back into the bedroom.
The moment I entered, I stopped.
Silas was standing beside the bed.
His hair was still wet, water dripping from the ends onto his plain shirt.
He was wearing simple joggers, and without his usual suit, he looked completely relaxed.
Almost ordinary.
Almost harmless.
If not for the tattoo covering his entire arm, I might have forgotten just how dangerous the man standing before me truly was.
But I hadn’t forgotten.
Not for a second.
“Do you like what you see?”
His voice was low, almost amused, as he closed the distance between us.
I realized I’d stopped dead in the middle of the room, staring.
The words I meant to say never made it past my throat.
He was already in front of me, one hand sliding into my hair as he claimed my mouth again.
The first press of his lips startled me; the second melted me.
I kissed him back, matching his rhythm, both hands rising to his shoulders to keep him close.
Heat flooded through me, sharp and sweet.
He lifted me easily, and my legs wrapped around his waist on instinct.
We never broke the kiss.
The moment my core pressed against the hard ridge of him, a helpless moan slipped out.
He started walking, carrying me somewhere I didn’t care to name.
I rocked against him without meaning to, chasing the friction, wishing the clothes between us would simply disappear.
Then the soft give of a mattress met my back.
Before I could protest the loss of contact he was already tugging my trousers down to my knees, leaving them there.
He sank between my thighs.
I couldn’t see his face anymore, only the dark crown of his head, but I felt his hands first, warm and deliberate, stroking over my clitoris.
He didn’t push inside.
He just traced slow, maddening circles until my hips jerked up to meet him.
Then his mouth found me.
He sucked my clit like a man starved, tongue working in hungry, relentless pulls.
Each draw dragged another broken sound from my throat.
My body arched, thighs trembling around his head.
I couldn’t think, couldn’t care who might hear.
My hands moved on their own, fingers threading into his hair and pushing him harder against me, chasing the release that still hovered just out of reach.
I needed more, needed the thick heat I’d felt earlier when he’d lifted me, needed him inside.
A knock sounded at the door.
He didn’t stop.
If anything he grew bolder, tongue flattening, sucking deeper, as if the possibility of being overheard only fed him.
My moans climbed higher.
Another knock.
Only then did he rise.
I almost cried out at the sudden loss.
Instead I stared up at him, chest heaving.
His lips were glossy with me.
He dragged his tongue across them slowly, tasting, and the look in his eyes said he was nowhere near finished.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said.
Before I could respond, he leaned down and kissed my cheek.
Then he turned toward the door.
“This better be good,” he muttered.
I could hear the annoyance in his voice.
I remained on the bed, staring at the door after he disappeared through it.
A few seconds later, I heard quiet whispers from outside.
I couldn’t make out what was being said, but after a while, I heard Silas’s footsteps moving away.
Then the door closed.
I stared at it in disbelief.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
More importantly, I couldn’t believe how loud I had been.
Thinking about it made my face burn.
There was no way someone standing outside that door hadn’t heard me.
And considering how many people worked in this estate, I had no idea how I was supposed to face them tomorrow.
I covered my face with both hands.
This was humiliating.
Yet, if I was being completely honest with myself… I would do it all over again if it meant feeling that way again.
I waited.
A few minutes passed.
Then more.
Still, Silas didn’t return.
Eventually, I realized he must have been occupied with whatever had called him away.
I sighed and put my trousers back on before standing.
There was no point waiting around indefinitely.
As I looked toward the window, something outside caught my attention.
A garden.
It stretched beyond the estate, beautifully arranged and illuminated by the faint light coming from the house.
I hadn’t noticed it earlier.
Since it seemed Silas wouldn’t be returning anytime soon, I decided I might as well take a look.
I walked over to the closet and picked up a scarf to protect myself from the cold.
After wrapping it around my neck, I left the bedroom and made my way toward the main entrance.
The estate was quiet now.
I followed the direction of the garden I had seen from the window, turning through one hallway after another.
But before I could reach it, I suddenly stopped.
My entire body went still.
There, in front of me, stood Silas with several of his men.
And they weren’t alone.
A man was kneeling on the ground in front of them.
One of Silas’s men had a gun pointed directly at him.
“Please,” the man begged, his voice trembling.
“I promise I won’t ever dare to do that again. I’m begging you.”
I stared at the scene.
Only moments ago, I had been thinking about the man who had kissed me.
Now I was looking at the man everyone in this estate feared.
Silas didn’t look anything like the relaxed man I had seen in our bedroom.
He looked like the Don again.
“That’s right. You wouldn’t.”
The final word had barely left Silas’s mouth when one of his men pulled the trigger.
The shot cracked through the air and the man dropped where he stood, dead before he hit the ground.
Silas didn’t look away.
“Dismember him before you dispose of the body.”
“Yes, sir.”
One of the men stepped forward, axe already in hand.
He raised it and brought it down in hard, deliberate strokes, severing the head from the neck from the body while the others stood and watched in silence.