"What do you mean by that?" Alejandro asked, his voice calm but edged with disbelief.
Rose felt her chest tighten at the way his eyes pinned her down, not with cruelty, but with that sharp concern he always carried when he thought she'd done something reckless.
Before she could answer, footsteps sounded from the kitchen. Matt and Kile came back into the living room, both abandoning the idea of coffee altogether, the clink of a forgotten spoon still echoing faintly from the counter.
"We just…" Rose began, her throat dry, the words coming out rough. She shifted on the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest like a shield. "We were fine. And then we had an argument, and I—I threw the ring at him. And I walked out."
Her voice cracked on the last part, as if saying it aloud made it heavier than when it had been just in her head.
Matt exchanged a look with Kile before stepping closer. "What was the argument about?"
Rose leaned back against the couch, exhaling hard through her nose. Her curls fell over her face, sticking slightly from the damp air outside. "I just wanted to know more about him. His childhood. His mother. But he just… dismissed me. Like it didn't matter. Like he didn't matter. He told me his past wasn't important." She hugged the pillow tighter. "But it matters to me. It matters because he knows everything about me—my past, my mistakes, my scars. He dug into my life like it was an open book. But I… I don't know him. Not really. And I can't marry someone I don't know."
Silence hung thick, broken only by the faint hum of the refrigerator and the muffled sounds of traffic from the city streets below.
Alejandro's brows drew together, his jaw tightening. "So you threw the ring and left?"
"Yes, I did." Rose's eyes snapped to him, sharper than she intended. But the way he said it—measured, quiet, laced with judgment—scraped her raw nerves. "Wait. Why does it sound like you're judging me?" Her gaze darted between him, Matt, and Kile, searching for a lifeline, a crack of sympathy.
The three men exchanged a glance. Kile cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. Matt looked down at the carpet. Alejandro, however, didn't flinch.
"Because I am," he said simply.
Rose's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?" The offense in her voice vibrated with heat.
Alejandro didn't soften. His dark eyes held hers like iron. "Look, Rose… He risked his life to save you—more than once. He burned bridges you can't even imagine. He ruined his partnership with the Cosa Nostra to keep you alive. And you know as well as I do, that's not something he takes lightly." His voice deepened, steady and unyielding. "Sure, he can be an ass sometimes. But everyone knows Nikolai has too much baggage, and he hides it behind that reputation, behind his cold walls. That's how he survives."
Rose swallowed, her pulse quickening. "So what? I should just accept marrying a man who knows me inside out, while I don't even know half of who he is?"
"I'm saying…" Alejandro leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his gaze cutting through her trembling defenses. "Give him time. Maybe his past is a lot worse than you think it is. Maybe he's not dismissing you to hurt you—maybe he's trying to protect you. Because if you knew everything, maybe you wouldn't look at him the same way again."
Rose's lips trembled, but she pressed them into a tight line.
Matt finally spoke, his voice softer than Alejandro's but no less serious. "He does have a point. Look, I've heard things. Whispers, rumors. I heard he was on the streets before Sergei found him at nineteen. And I also heard he was in juvenile prison back in Moscow when he was just twelve." He shook his head slowly. "One can only imagine what he went through. So maybe he's not refusing to tell you because he doesn't care—maybe he's just scared that if you know everything, you'll back out. Or worse—you'll see him as the monster he already sees himself as."
Rose's hands flew to her curls, tugging them slightly as she dragged her palms down her face. "God…" she muttered. Her chest ached like someone was pressing against her ribs from the inside. Her heart whispered that she had overreacted, that she should've waited, should've been patient. But her pride… her pride screamed that she was right to demand more.
Because wasn't it fair? Wasn't it right to want to know the man who had just asked her to spend forever with him?
She felt caught in a war between her love and her stubbornness.
"Look," Kile said, stepping closer, his voice level but firm. "We are your friends. We want what's best for you. But we're not going to let your stubbornness ruin the only real relationship you've ever had." His tone softened. "You've fought too hard for this, Rose. For him. For yourself. Don't throw it away because you both can't meet in the middle yet."
Her eyes stung again, her throat tightening as she blinked rapidly to keep the tears from spilling. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold despite the warmth of the apartment.
"What if I was too harsh?" she whispered, more to herself than to them. "What if… what if I ruined everything? He told me to never come back if I walked out"
Alejandro exhaled through his nose, running a hand through his hair. "Rose. Listen to me." His voice was steady, sharp with conviction. "When he said you shouldn't come back if you left… he didn't mean it. He said that because he was desperate. Because he knew the only way to stop you was to scare you."
Rose looked up, her eyes wide, wet, fragile.
"He loves you too much to mean those words," Alejandro said quietly. "Trust me. If there's one thing Nikolai has never been able to hide—it's how much he loves you. Even when he doesn't want to."
Her lips parted, but no words came. The silence pressed in around them again, heavier this time, loaded with unspoken truths and guilt.
Rose finally let out a shaky sigh, sinking deeper into the couch. "I'll stay here tonight," she murmured, her voice breaking on the last word. "After all, he said if I walked out, I shouldn't bother coming back."
Matt's shoulders slumped, Kile's expression softened, but Alejandro didn't look away.
"You can stay here," he said gently. "But don't fool yourself. That man would burn the whole world just to find you again. And you know it."
Rose closed her eyes, the weight of his words pressing deep into her chest, deeper than the ache of the missing ring on her bare finger.