“Why are you asking me to go back to that house?” Rosa asked, seemingly indifferently, and then went upstairs.

The evening last Saturday, Rosa’s grandfather, Marcel Jimenez, went to the Marshall family’s house to visit Leonard, which meant only Rosa was staying in the empty house. However, as she was about to go to bed, the doorbell rang.

It was her father, Rowan Jimenez, coming back from his mission a bit earlier than expected. And beside him, there was a strange man. Rowan introduced him as Rosa’s fiancé, told them to get along, and then went to his room.

That was why Rosa didn’t want to go back to the house. Without her grandpa there, the house was cold and empty, and she didn’t want to face her father alone.

When he saw she didn’t want to go, Arthur quickly grabbed her hand, but she forcefully shook him off before giving him a swift kick for good measure.

Arthur did his best to dodge Rosa’s attacks, and as he did so, he said coldly, “I’m not your enemy. The commander wants you to come.”

Looking at Arthur’s deep eyes in the darkness, Rosa sneered, “Commander? You respect my father so much, but you are nothing but his lapdog.”

This time, her sarcasm was unmistakable, and her growl spread quickly through the quiet building.

However, as soon as she finished her words, Arthur’s eyes turned frighteningly cold.

Rosa noticed the change in his expression, but she wasn’t swayed at all. With an even more menacing tone, she asked, “What? Did I hit a nerve?”

Arthur didn’t answer at all. Instead, he turned even more cold and ruthless. “Rosa, you’re going back tonight even if I have to carry you.”

At this, Rosa shuddered, finally realizing how dangerous the man standing before her really was.

“This is your true face, isn’t it? Well, at least you don’t disgust me anymore,” she said, trying to suppress the anger in her heart. “Why did you approach me? Or better, why did you approach my father? What do you want to achieve by doing this?”

Having received no response, Rosa continued, “We are all smart people. You…”

Before she could finish, Arthur interrupted her. “If you want to know, go ask your father yourself.”

He then walked forward, and Rosa knew there was nothing else she could do but follow him.

When they arrived at the solemn mansion, Rowan was reading newspapers in the living room.

He glanced indifferently at the two people who entered the room, put down the newspapers, and stood up. “Rosa, come with me,” he said as he started walking upstairs.

With a glare at Arthur, Rosa changed her shoes and followed her father to his study.

The room itself was as solemn as the mansion and its owner. It was dark, and the air inside was suffocating.

Rosa had never been close to her father, and now that she was trapped with him in a room she rarely entered in the first place, she felt an inexplicable sense of doom.

“Rosa, do you remember Arthur?” Rowan asked.

Even though Rosa still hoped to hear some affection when he called her name, his words were emotionless as ever.

“I don’t,” she answered honestly.

“More than twenty years ago, one of my guards took a bullet for me and died, leaving his wife and child alone. During his dying moments, he asked me to take care of them.”

Rowan started the story, determined to explain who Arthur was and how he knew him.

“For six years after his death, I financially supported his wife and child, and occasionally, I went to see them. Soon after that, the child’s mother died due to an illness, and the child joined the army at the age of sixteen.”

“So that child is Arthur?” Rosa interrupted, sitting stiffly opposite her father. “How old is he now?”

“About eight years older than you.”

As her father’s story unfolded, Rosa felt sorry for her father and the family’s loss. She could understand her father’s guilt and his love for the boy, but when she remembered how cold and distant he was to her when she was three years old, even though she had just lost her own mother, she didn’t know if she could forgive him. ‘So for him, guilt was more important than his own family?’

“Do you remember when I brought him to the house that year?”

Rowan asked, and this time, Rosa seemed to remember her father bringing an inexperienced young man to their house. During his stay, Rosa felt that her father loved him more than her, so she didn’t speak to Arthur at all.

As she relived the painful memories, a bitter smile appeared on Rosa’s face. The scrawny young man was now tall and sturdy, and the situation had changed a lot during all those years.

“Back then, I wanted to adopt him, but he refused, so I let him go back to his hometown and join the army. I never saw him again, until a few days ago. It turned out he had become a colonel by virtue of his own ability. He is a talented and promising young man,” Rowan continued, praising Arthur without pause.

Rosa didn’t know what to say. Silence filled the air.

“Rosa, he really is a nice young man. I want him to be my son-in-law,” her father finally said.

Even though it was still a statement and not a question, it was much softer than the order he had barked at her the night before.

“Dad, I have a boyfriend,” Rosa said calmly.

At this, her father took out a newspaper and spread it out on the table. Pointing at the largest photo, he said, “I know. Is this him?”

“Yes,” Rosa replied, looking at the headline, which brought the news of Guzman Group’s CEO and his girlfriend.

“I admit that he is a good man, but I would like you to marry a soldier, and Arthur is the best choice,” Rowan said, slowly and firmly as he put down the newspaper.

Rosa took a deep breath before saying, “I’ve decided to marry Mike. He is very kind to me.”

When her father heard this, his whole face suddenly changed. “Nonsense! Marriage is not a game!” he yelled.

“I know it’s not a game, and I’m serious. I have my own opinions!” Rosa countered, raising her voice too.

“Break up with that man as soon as possible. You are going to marry Arthur. It’s an order,” Rowan insisted, his voice becoming cold and menacing. He was a man who didn’t tolerate disobedience in any shape or form.

Rosa, however, only smiled bitterly. “I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me either. What is the point of such a marriage?”

“You can grow fonder of each other with time. Arthur told me that he liked you,” Rowan replied, his voice becoming a bit softer once he saw his daughter’s bitter smile.

“And you believe him?” Rosa asked, suddenly standing up. She couldn’t control herself anymore. “Why should my whole life be dictated by you? You already control my career, and now you want to control my personal life too?”

Ever since she was a child, Rosa had lived her life under her father’s rule. To her, he was nothing more than a stranger, and she had never felt any care or love from him. Still, she remembered every time he had forced her to follow his orders.

This time, she had to take a stand. If she let him arrange her own marriage, she was going to be his puppet for the rest of her life.

“Because I am your father!” Rowan shouted, his large fist slamming the table. “Rosa, Arthur is going to be your husband, and that is final.”

“I’m not marrying that man!” Rosa screamed and left, slamming the door behind her.

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