Caden's POV: Rosaline had walked away. I sat on the couch, brooding. By the time the clock struck 11 and she still hadn't come out, I sighed and figured it was time to swallow my pride. I mean, couples fight—who stays mad forever? Especially over a birthday party. It's not exactly a proper meal anyway. I got up, went to the kitchen, fired up the stove, and started chopping vegetables like I'd done it a hundred times before. I made her pasta and gently pushed open the door to the study. There she was, eyes glued to the screen as she made adjustments to her design draft. I sighed, walked over, and placed the pasta next to her hand. "Okay, come on. Don't stay mad. You probably didn't eat anything decent at the party, right? Just eat something before going back to work. I can't have my wife getting sick." Her hand froze on the mouse. She looked up at me. "You're not mad anymore?" I gave a small nod and sat beside her, letting out a helpless chuckle. "I was just jealous. Took me a second to admit it, but I'm over it now. You can't blame me, though. When a guy finds someone amazing, of course he's going to worry someone else might try to swoop in." Rosaline's POV: Oh my gosh, did I hear that right? The Alpha of the Eclipse Pack, Mr. Holbrook himself, actually apologizing to me? That's a first. I chuckled inwardly, and my mood softened. Honestly, it wasn't a big deal to me. I just couldn't understand why Caden lost it over me dancing with someone else. I really don't like it when someone tries to control what I can or can't do. "I get that you were jealous. But you've got to trust me, at least enough not to do what you did today. It felt like you were trying to put a leash on me." This was the first time I'd ever said something like this to Caden. But since we were choosing to build a life together, I figured honesty was the best policy. It's better to get things out in the open than let them build up."Okay. You're right." He considered this and nodded slowly. "Rosaline, I know I've got my flaws. What I said and did earlier was because I was jealous, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll work on it. I promise." Seeing him so open and sincere, I couldn't help but smile. I held his hand and said gently, "I know you don't like seeing me around other people, and you get jealous. But you have to believe in me. Let's work through this together. I'll make sure you never feel like that again, okay?" He looked into my eyes; his eyes lit up with a hint of a smile. He ruffled my hair affectionately and said, "Alright. Got it. Now eat your pasta before it gets cold." I nodded, picked up my fork, and started eating. As I took a bite, Caden glanced at my screen and noticed I was still working on my old design draft—the one I had submitted for the upcoming competition. He looked confused. "Why are you still editing that design? I thought it was all set and ready for the contest. What's going on?" I swallowed a mouthful and gave him a wry look. "Candice showed up in Phoshire a few days ago. She even visited the studio to ask Camilla about custom gowns and about the design contest too. She's clearly fishing for intel on my draft. I looked into it, and it turns out she and Susan are teaming up to ruin my reputation." Caden was shocked with the revelation; he drew his brows together and said, "Candice managing to survive what she did was already a miracle. Now she's back and trying to mess with you? What are you going to do?" I shrugged and motioned for him to look at my screen. "If they want to know, fine. I'll have Camilla leak some details. I'll just tweak the draft a little more. No big deal." "But," I added, my tone firming, "this time, I'm going to make sure Susan suffers a consequence." Caden's POV: I had a bad feeling about this. It felt too calculated. If Candice and Susan were teaming up, there was no way they didn't have more tricks up their sleeves. Then, I looked at Rosaline, worry tugging at my voice. "If Candice came back without anyone noticing and showed up here just to get to you, she's not someone to underestimate anymore. And I've heard of Susan—she's no saint. Please be careful. Protect yourself." Rosaline smiled gently and patted the back of my hand. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. I won't let anything happen to me. Now let me go grab some water—" She started to stand up, but I couldn't help myself—I stood too and pulled her into my arm. "What are you doing?" She asked, a bit puzzled.I rested my chin on her shoulder, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Rosaline ... seriously. Once you're done with all this, and we go back home, I want to throw our engagement party right away. I don't care about waiting for the perfect time anymore. I can't wait. I want to marry you." Tears welled up in her eyes; she smiled, looked up, and gently adjusted my collar. "You're that eager, huh? What about your grandfather? Won't he want a proper ceremony? And engagement parties take time to plan—unless you've already been planning it?" "You don't have to worry about Grandpa," I said, finally relaxing as I realized she wasn't opposed. "He's eager for me to marry you. He's afraid you'll slip away if I don't move fast. And as for the party—I'll take care of everything. I'm going to give you the most beautiful engagement celebration in the world. One that'll make everyone jealous." She laughed softly and cupped my cheek. "Okay, okay, I get it. You don't have to say it again. I believe you. And I'm looking forward to it." We locked eyes, drawn in by each other, and finally gave in to a kiss. It took a long time before we broke apart. Rosaline's cheeks were flushed as she gently pushed me away. "Alright, alright, enough of that. I need to finish my work."