"Oh . . ." Jace could only say when he heard her response. Was there any girl in the world who would refuse such opportunity? He was giving her a ticket to become the next Mrs. Hart, a position girls all over the world are competing for. He nodded after a while of staring at her with parted lips. She was really the princess. She was qualified to be the future queen.
"Thanks for the offer anyway. I will ask you for the opportunity if I ever need it but I don't."
Jace chuckled as he stood up from his seat. "You are proud," he told chuckling as he went to his seat. His brother hardly gave any expression no matter what happened but issues concerning Rose did a good job of causing a fluctuation in his expression. He had a new chance to get a change in his brother's expression.
He went to his brother study in the night to use his new card. His brother was busy with work stuff as he sat down with his intimidating aura on the big black leather chair behind the large high quality wooden work desk. This sight reminded him very much of his dad. When they newly got adopted, he always saw his father sit down behind a table working till late at night at times. Now his brother was doing the same thing.
"What is it?" his brother asked still expressionless.
"I want to tell you what happened today in school," Jace said comfortably sitting on the smaller chair in front of the work desk.
Liam closed the file in front of him on the desk and relaxed his back on the backrest of the chair and waited for his brother to speak. For two years he was away from home and unable to see his brother and when he got back, he was too busy trying to proof to everyone that he was good enough to be where he was.
He hardly had time for other things which included spending some time with his brother and his brother equally stayed away from him but his brother came to talk to him today. He did not mind putting work aside for a few minutes with his brother.
Seeing his brother was willing to listen, Jace immediately began narrating what happened when he gave Rose his suggestion. He watched his brother closely and as he expected, his brother showed some change on his always expressionless face. Once his brother's lips twitched and the other time, his brother's brow furrowed.
He was so happy that he did not miss any of those changes because he might not get to see such changes again in perhaps a few months. He stored them up in his long term memory immediately never to lose such important memory.
His brother remained quiet while watching him when he was done narrating it in a very enjoyable manner. He raised his eyebrow waiting for his brother to say something. When his brother continued to remain silent, his lips twitched as he shook his head at his boring brother.
"I . . . I will leave. Good night," he said standing up with his tail between his legs. He could literally feel his brother's eyes boring eyes into every single part of him and he could not with stand such gaze as he felt the strong desire to leave the room.
He almost sprinted out of the study and stayed outside the door to calm his racing heart down. He mopped the cold sweat on his brow and the back of his neck as he scurried away to his room. Those memories were important but the look he got as a punishment was almost making him regret going to his brother's study.
***
Rose sat in front of her laptop and found herself staring at the picture of the first son of the Hart family. The young man in the picture was expressionless but that did not diminish his beauty. He had the most gorgeous grey she had ever seen. He had an aura of power and strength. That was the type of look a king would have sitting on his throne.
She liked what she saw. He would be able to instill fear in the heart of anyone he wants to without any effort. She placed her elbow on the table while resting her chin on her palm as she stared at the picture without blinking her eyes.
Finally she looked away but that was when the alarm clock in her room rang shaking on one of her bedside table. She got up tiredly rubbing her eyes with the back of her. She yawned as she craved for the usual four hours of sleep she always got that she lost this night looking at the young man's picture.
The more she looked, the more she wanted to keep looking. She discovered new beauties in the man the more she looked and since she did not want to miss any, she kept looking. His hair, his thin pink lips, his grey cold eyes, his slim straight high-bridged nose, his sharp eye brows and his muscular body that reminded of how much she was an ordinary young girl who could also feel something when faced with such handsome being.
She stopped the alarm clock from screaming at her and returned to her laptop. She hesitated when she wanted to close her laptop and saved the image on her laptop. She printed the picture from the printer Mara got for her when she got Anna a printer for printing some of their school assignments.
She folded the paper and placed on her closed laptop and went to her bathroom to get ready for school. When she got out of her walk-in closet after getting fully dressed for school, she saw Anna sitting with the paper in her hand.
"What are you doing with that?" Rose asked regretting ever searching for Liam Hart's picture.
"I was just curious but I found something really interesting," Anna chuckled opening the paper to show the picture on it in a colored print. "So, when did you begin having a crush on Jace's elder brother?"
"I don't have a crush on him!" Rose strongly argued snatching the paper from her sister as she mentally slapped herself for printing the picture when she could find it on the internet whenever she wants.
"Yeah, you do. You just confirmed," Anna argued strongly unwilling to back out. "Should I tell Jace to help you set up a meeting?"
"Please stop it," Rose begged unable to ignore her sister's teasing tone.
"I really have a brother-in-law right?"
Rose wore her backpack and walked out of the room unwilling to keep listening and with Anna's personality she was definitely not going to stop anytime soon and she really did not stop even after they got down stairs for breakfast.
"What are you talking about while eating breakfast?" Valerie asked wearing a warm elegant smile when she saw her daughters.
"Nothing."
"Her crush."
The two answers made Valerie's smile brightened as she sat down while the maid brought her meal.
"So, who is Rose's crush?"
"Mr. Hart's first son."
"No one."
Valerie knew very well that Rose might not really be having a crush on the young man because Anna had a very good ability of teasing people. It was also obvious Rose did not want to talk about it so she decided to try being on Rose side on this issue.
"What about you?" Valerie asked in a teasing daughter for Rose.
"Yes, she has a crush, no, it is a boyfriend. He confessed to the whole school that she was his boyfriend."
"Wow, Anna when did that happen? You don't tell me things anymore. I feel offended."
"I did not accept him."
"But you did not object. The whole school thinks you two are dating and these days you guys have gotten close," Rose argued now completely joining her foster mother against her sister for the first time since she got adopted.
"I did not want to offend him. He is . . ."
". . .your boyfriend," Rose helped her complete the sentence.
"Dad, they are bullying me," Anna found a refuge when her father walked into the dining room. She got up from where she sat down and hugged her father's arm.
"Who is bully you?" Justin asked deciding to join in the fun when he saw the bright smile on his wife's face. Today had always being a sad day for his wife since their daughter died and today was the girl's death anniversary. Since his wife was having fun, he really wanted the fun to continue.
"Mum and Rose. They ganged up against me," Anna whined with a conflicted expression.
"She got herself a boyfriend," Valerie reported Anna immediately to him.
"Of course, why not? She is very beautiful and so boys are disturbing her. That is not her fault. Is it her fault for being beautiful?" Justin supported Anna.
Rose and Valerie laughed. It was really funny to see Justin act so close to the girls. It was something they hardly witness. He was serious half of the time with no time for jokes or fun.
Anna, who was expecting to get scolded but did not get scolded, sighed secretly in relief as she had already broken out a few cold sweats. "Dad, Rose also has a crush on my so called boyfriend's brother."
This actually caught Justin's attention. "So what is their family name?"