Chapter 10
Gareth requested a meeting after four months.
Rosaline refused.
I met him alone.
He had lost weight.
Still handsome.
Still angry.
“Everyone has turned against me.”
“No.”
“They stopped treating you as Rosaline’s representative.”
“Same thing.”
There.
Identity fused with borrowed authority.
“What do you want?”
“My daughter.”
Careful.
“Relationship?”
“Yes.”
“Control?”
His jaw tightened.
“No.”
I did not answer.
He asked about Posy.
I told him only what Rosaline permitted.
Healthy.
Safe.
Not ready to see him.
He accused Rosaline of poisoning her.
I almost ended the meeting.
Then he said something useful.
“I was trying to give Posy what I never had.”
I waited.
His father sold cheap jewelry from a small shop.
Collectors mocked him.
Gareth grew up watching wealthy people treat his family like craftsmen who should enter through side doors.
When he married Rosaline, he believed he finally crossed that line.
Then collectors still spoke to her first.
Elena’s daughter.
Blackthorn blood.
He remained husband.
He hated it.
Posy became his chance to create something undeniable.
A child trained early.
Knowledgeable.
Perfect.
Admired.
He called it legacy.
Really it was revenge against rooms that once ignored him.
Understanding did not soften consequence.
But it clarified.
“You were training Posy to heal your humiliation.”
His face collapsed.
“Yes.”
“And punishing Rosaline when the child failed.”
He looked down.
“Yes.”
May you like
Good.
The first honest meeting.
