Previously on Avenging Angels
FIFTY-FOUR
"Hey, how is she?" I asked.
'She is doing better now. She has eaten and I gave her some drugs which made her doze off' Lorenzo said from the other side of the phone.
"Thank God," I sighed in relief.
"Thank you so much, you're the best" I smiled.
'Of course, I am, why else do you think everyone is after me?' he snickered.
"Tonto" I rolled my eyes.
'Tell me, what happened?' he asked.
"I don't know the full details yet because I have only heard from William. Apparently, Iris is cheating on him"
'Funny. The snake up to something again?' Lorenzo asked, referring to Avalor.
"Yap, I'm a hundred percent sure she is behind this"
'I will find out after I hear from Iris. Don't worry about it, my love'
"Thank you. Please update on what you find out"
'I will. Don't stress about it. Iris is fine, I know you must be feeling guilty that you can't come to comfort her yourself'
"Nobody knows me as you do. I'm feeling really bad that I can't be there for her" I sighed and ran my hand over my hair.
'Don't stress yourself, Iris understands. Now, stop messing your hair up and give daddy a big smile'
I snorted.
He knows whenever he calls himself daddy, it always cracks me up.
I smoothened my hair and smiled.
'There's the beautiful smile I love' he gushed and I chuckled.
"How do you know me so much?" I shook my head.
'That will always be a remain a mystery. Adios, Mi Amore' the line went off.
I fell into my bed with a huff.
I'm so stressed out.
I need a break from all this drama.
But I will never be able to rest until the Bladderworts pay for what they did to my parents.
I went down to the kitchen and the girls were on the counter, some on their phones and others doing chores from this morning.
"Rose, Mrs. Bladderwort called you in the glassroom," Helen said.
Great!
I went back to the hall and entered the room.
As usual, the smell of fresh flowers had the power to calm my nerves down.
"Rosaline. You're here" Avalor called in a sweet tone.
"Yes, ma'am. You asked of me?" I walked in and saw her on the ground, planting new seeds.
"Yes, get me the watering pot over there" she pointed and I gave her the pot.
I stood and watched her water the soil from behind.
"So, I heard Willam opened his door for you" she started as a casual conversation but she was trying to dig for information.
"Yes, I managed to get him to eat some food" I took the bait.
"Really? That's very sweet of you. Did he mention why he is behaving so odd?" she asked.
"Yes, he did,"
"And what made my son so angry?" She dropped the pot and moved to the other side of the room.
"He told me he found out that Miss Janet was cheating on him and that he broke up with her last night" I watched her reaction.
Her perfectly drawn eyebrows rose a millimeter high and her expression was one of wonder with a hint of satisfaction buried below.
Oh, she did do something.
"Cheated? Our dear Janet cheated on my son? That's impossible" she began her drama.
"Exactly,"
"Anyway, he has already ended it with her so who am I to try to stop him. It was never meant to be" she sighed as though disappointed.
"Come on, what are you waiting for? We have lots of new seeds to plant"
I grabbed my tools and got to work.
"May I ask you a question, ma'am?" I started slow.
"Go on,"
"You seem to have a keen interest in roses, may I ask why?"
"Uh... Roses have been my favorite flower since I was a child. A friend of mine introduced the art of gardening to me,"
I stopped and slightly clenched the trowel in my hands.
Miss Helda said Avalor only had one friend and that friend was my mother.
My mother loves gardening more than anything that she even forced my father to learn how to plant a flower.
"That friend of yours must have been very special" I tried to keep my voice steady.
"Yes, she was. Too bad, she didn't last long" she said with a dark mystical tone that nearly choked me to death.
"Too bad, indeed" I gritted out.
*****
Dinner was ready and the family was at the table, about to start eating when the door opened and everyone looked up.
William was in a casual shirt and sweatpants with his hair slightly disheveled and his eyes were red-rimmed.
He walked into the room and went towards his seat.
"Good evening, Mother and Father" he greeted.
"William, how are you feeling, honey?" Avalor asked with fake concern.
"I'm fine, mother. You don't need to worry, sorry I made you all panic for nothing" he apologized and Sarah served his food.
"It's okay, as long as you are fine now"
"Also, as you asked, I arranged for the date with Miss Rivers tomorrow afternoon"
I'm sorry, what?!
Unable to digest the news, I choked on my spit and began to cough out loud.
"Rose, are you okay?" Francesca patted my back.
"I'm...F-fine" I coughed out.
"Here, drink some water" Chris rushed to my side with a glass of water.
"Calm down. Drink slowly" he said as he patted my back.
"Thank you, sir," I cleared my throat after I overcame the coughing pit.
Chris took the hint and went back to his seat.
"Will you go on the date?" Avalor asked with a smile.
It was silent for a while.
"Yes, I will" Willam answered.
Okay, someone, hold me tight before I fall.
What on earth is going on?!
"Good, Mr. Rivers will be happy to hear that" Avalor chirped.
"Yeah," Willam bowed his head and picked on his food.
"What is wrong with you, Rose?" Helen asked as I scrubbed the counter with extra force after dinner.
"This stupid...stain...won't...get...off" I hissed as I scrubbed the counter harder.
Stupid Willam, stupid William, and an even more stupid Avalor.
How did she convince Willam to go on a date with another woman in just a few hours?!!
I am so pissed, I don't even know what to say!!!
Poor Iris,
If she hears of this, she would be devastated.
Not like she isn't already.
"Rose, you will break your arm if you continue that way. If the stain won't go off, just leave it" Georgina said.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" I roared, threw the cloth on the counter, and stormed out of the kitchen.
I ran up the stairs in fury and knocked on the first door to the left.
Before the person could answer, I opened the door and shut it behind me.
"What is wrong with you?!" I belted out.
"Excuse me?" William stood up from his bed.
"Are you insane? How could you agree to that?!"
"What is this about, Rose?" he asked.
"How could you agree to go on a date in less than twenty-four hours of breaking up with Janet?" I stomped my feet in frustration.
"Exactly. I have broken up with her so I can do what I want"
"Are you serious? Like, are you really serious?" I walked up to him.
"You were crying your eyes out this morning and now, the next thing you do is to go on a date? How shameless can you be?!" I spat.
"Rose-"
"You have no idea what she must be going through after you ended it without even hearing her out. Did you even bother to listen to what she had to say?!"
"That's enough-"
"But no, you decide to go on a date because mama asked you to. This just proves that you never truly loved her like you claim, if you can go out with someone else right after your break up, you never loved her. Now, tell me, who is the cheat?!"
"Don't you dare!" he grabbed me by my upper arms roughly.
"Don't you dare talk like you know everything,"
"What do you know? Huh? Do you know what it feels like to see the one you love in the arms of another? Do you know the sound of when your heart breaks? Have you ever been in love?!" He yelled.
"No! No, I haven't!" I pushed him away from me.
"I have never loved someone to the point of madness but I know that when you love a person, you're supposed to fight the whole world for your love. You're supposed to sacrifice for love"
"But you," I pointed at him with disgust.
"You're a coward!" I spat.
"You hide away from the truth just because you're hurt. You don't bother to even listen to the other side of the story. You're a bloody coward!"
"What did you just say?!" he asked with tears in his eyes.
"You heard me, that's what you are. Feel free to fire me if you feel offended by my brutal words, Mr. Bladderwort, because I'm done wasting my breath on you!" I walked out of the room and slammed the door behind me.
He wants to go on a date?!
My name wouldn't be Rosaline Thorne if you go on that stupid date of yours, Willam.