Bala: The Duke's Contract Wife

Duchess of Maraina (Rose's POV)

Rose took Paul to the gazebo in the middle of the east wing garden, away from the crowd. Lisa initially followed them but Rose then told the maid to grab an aloe vera ointment for her.

In the gazebo, Rose finally let go of her grasp from Paul. Because there was no one else, Rose finally took off her mask. She did not care if Paul could see her face. Besides, the boy had seen her true appearance.

"Why didn't you speak up, huh?" asked Rose angrily. "Why did you just accept all they did to you? Why didn't you–" Rose stopped herself.

Paul stared at Rose with glistening eyes. Without Paul knowing, his gaze made Rose's anger relapse right then. But before the boy's hopes grew, Rose decided to say coldly, "Look, boy. I'm not your mother. And I have no intention of becoming a mother to you."

Paul's gaze turned flat.

"I don't care what you do. But as long as I'm the Duchess here, no one can touch a Maraina, you understand?"

The boy nodded weakly.

Rose exhaled for the umpteenth time on that day.

"How do you know that aloe vera ointment can heal my wounds?" asked Paul.

"The ointment does not heal. It's just to give some relief and cooling effect."

Paul stared at her again. "Sounds like you're talking from experience."

One corner of Rose's lips quirked up slightly to hear the statement. The boy had just shown that he, too, knew of Rose's dark past. "Unlike your father, you're good at reading people, huh?" she had to acknowledge the boy's resourcefulness.

"Then why did you let Gina and Don do the same thing to you?" asked Rose again.

Paul couldn't answer. He cut off their eye contact. In a moment, Lisa was back with the ointment that Rose asked for. Rose told Lisa to take Paul to his room and then to summon a physician to treat his wounds and apply the ointment to Paul's bruises.

When they left, Rose looked up at the ceiling of the gazebo. Without Paul answering, Rose already knew why the boy allowed himself to be tormented. The ability to read a situation and people is not the same as the ability to get out of trouble. Reading something is much easier than facing something. Because facing something takes courage. And for a boy who didn't have anyone's support, that courage is hard to come by. It feels like the whole world is against him alone.

Rose knew because that was how Rose used to be. Even when she had gathered the courage, her plans didn't always work.

After exhaling once more, Rose put her mask back on.