“Keagan?”

She noticed my silence and moved closer again.

That gardenia smell grew even heavier.

Fritz suddenly dashed out, staggering as he fell into Rosalie’s arms.

“Sister Rosalie!”

“He had people hold me down and cut skin straight off my body…”

“Didn’t you say you would keep me safe forever? It hurts so badly now…”

Rosalie’s breathing clearly broke.

She looked at the bandage wrapped around his chest, then at the smooth skin on mine, and her eyes chilled.

Her voice dropped low.

“Keagan, how did you turn into this?”

“So… heartless?”

Fritz cried softly against her shoulder, but the glance he sent my way carried nothing but challenge and pride.

“He’s still so young, with such a large mark on his body, how will he live later?”

Rosalie’s voice grew cold. “Do you need to ruin him before you feel content?”

I watched the way she blocked Fritz behind her.

All at once, I remembered Rosalie at eighteen, careful, restrained, not even daring to wrap her arms tightly around me when she held me.

Back then, she made her first promise, saying she would stay by my side for life.

I gently brushed the fresh skin on my chest, holding back the ache rising in my heart.

“Have you considered what I’m meant to do with those words carved on me?”

“He tattooed me with those words. I took a piece of his skin. Even.”

Rosalie parted her lips, yet nothing came out.

Seeing her fall silent, Fritz suddenly screamed wildly. “Sister Rosalie! You’re already carrying my baby!”

“You can’t let him treat me this way! Take me away! Please, take me away!!”

It felt like lightning struck me, leaving me frozen in place as I watched the burst of happiness in Rosalie’s eyes.

She carefully held Fritz’s hand, gentle as if holding something precious.

Joy spilled from her brows and eyes.

“Don’t worry, we’re leaving right now.”

Rosalie rushed out with him pulled along, her steps never slowed even for a moment as she passed me.

She only tossed back one line. “Keagan, you need to calm yourself and learn how to be my husband properly.”

After that, Rosalie did not come home for three months.

She took Fritz to Switzerland to see the snow.

He casually mentioned liking the Alpine snow views, she immediately purchased a hillside vacation home, and the ownership papers carried only his name.

After that, they traveled to Venice.

Fritz shared a photo online of Rosalie’s specially ordered watch, an eighteenth-century sapphire face glowing brightly on his wrist.

[There is always someone who quietly grants every wish you have. So this is how it feels to be treasured.]

Rosalie’s preference had always been obvious and direct, just like when she chased after me.

Never understanding restraint.

I stared at that image for a very, very long time until a sharp ache spread through my eyes.

Dropping my eyes, I rotated the band on my ring finger, the small diamond ring she purchased using her very first month’s internship pay.

“Uncle Teddy.”

When the butler poured tea, I asked quietly, “The Snyder family’s long-term investment fund has always depended on Grandfather’s backing?”

The butler quickly unlocked the safe and removed the papers.

“Young Sir.”

“The elder prepared all of this for you before he died.”

I studied the terms, thought about the Alpine snow edge, the reflective canals of Venice, and that vintage watch.

Then I called Rosalie.

After three ringing tones, I switched to a video call, and the face on the screen was Fritz’s.

“Brother Keagan?”

“Rosalie is showering.”

A faint mark showed along his collarbone, and his face carried the content look of a man fully indulged.

He no longer resembled the shy, thin boy he once was.

“Honestly, there’s something I’m unsure whether I should mention, but I think you’ll learn it sooner or later.”

“Do you know?”

“Rosalie said the thing she dislikes most about you is your always-calm manner.”

“She’s obsessed with me in bed. She says she loves how young and untamed I am, that I make her feel so good she almost loses control.”

Fritz paused, then continued, pride clear in his voice.

“Oh, and back when you arranged for someone to take a piece of skin from me, leaving that large mark…”

“Rosalie felt bad for me, so she willingly had part of her own skin taken to be grafted onto mine…”

The video cut off without warning.

I gripped the window ledge to keep myself upright.

After waiting for my pulse to settle, I called another number.

That same night, the charity auction Rosalie organized for Fritz rose to the top of the trending searches.

The screen overflowed with posts saying “Mr. Porter makes his first public appearance as the male host.”

Guests stopped bringing up his past as a tattoo worker, instead politely addressing him as “Mr. Porter.”

Some overly flattering attendees even lifted their champagne glasses, praising, “The two of you really make a perfect pair.”

Beneath the bright lights of the banquet hall, Rosalie led Fritz toward the auction platform.

Their fingers were tightly linked under the cameras like newlyweds standing on a grand wedding stage, and applause burst out the moment they appeared.

“Taking this opportunity tonight…”

Rosalie gently adjusted Fritz’s tie, “I want to formally announce—”

The carved doors of the hall suddenly flew open with a loud crash, and more than a dozen lawyers in suits strode in quickly.

The leading middle-aged man set a stock freeze notice in front of Rosalie.

“Miss Snyder.”

“According to the terms arranged by Mr. Foster before his death…”

Rosalie was about to call for security when she realized every staff member had disappeared.

The man pushed the document closer. “All Snyder-held shares under your name have been fully frozen.”