A Few Days Later
A knock at your door rudely interrupts your sulking, and you huff loudly when you hear Taehee call out from the other side. You love her to death, but you're not exactly in the mood for visitors.
You begrudgingly make yourself decent as she slips into the room, releasing a very energized Hank onto the floor. He bounds over to your sad frame, making quick work of jumping up onto the bed and approaching you.
"He misses you, Y/N," she says, carefully sitting down in the oak chair beside your bed. "As does the princess," she adds after a moment, glancing up at you to gauge your reaction. Although she doesn't know the specifics behind your argument, it's still easy for her to see that something happened. Neither of you have been seen together around the palace for a few days now, choosing instead to lock yourselves away in your rooms or stay as far away from each other as possible.
On the occasions that you'd sneak out to grab a snack or take a walk outside and coincidentally run into each other, one of you would always bow and leave, not wanting to intrude.
"Yeah, well," you start, realizing halfway through that you don't exactly know how to finish your sentence. You can't tell her of the suspected betrayal yet in the off chance that Rosé was telling the truth, because that would only cause panic and end in disaster.
For now, you've decided to wait things out and see if Rosé's intentions were actually true.
"But don't worry, I didn't come here to pester you about that. Your father is hosting a dinner tonight, and he's inviting all of the Parks to join. He wants you to come as well; everyone's a little worried about you."
You squeeze your eyes shut and lay your head back against your pillow, cursing under your breath. Your duty to the kingdom will always come first, and you don't want to create any doubts concerning your loyalty; that fact annoys you sometimes, though you know it's inescapable.
"Fine. When is it?"
"Not for a couple more hours." She says, watching as Hank licks your cheek in big strokes, making you grimace and wipe your face.
"Alright, alright." You sigh, sitting up as he rolls over onto his back in your lap.
"You're lucky you're cute, you know that?" He seems to smile at your words, barking softly afterwards.
"Why thank you," Taehee jests, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"Yah!" You laugh, looking up at her as you toss one of your pillows at her. "The dog, Tae."
"Shhh," she dismisses, wiggling a finger in your direction. "Just get ready, kid."
You roll your eyes and giggle, giving Hank another pet and wrapping Taehee into a quick hug before heading off to your washroom.
----
Throngs of waiters and waitresses rush about, all caught up with their duties as they work hard to set everything up for your dinner. You can hear the hustle and bustle of their movements as you make your way down the grand staircase, clad in an ornate blouse and dress pants with black boots to match.
"Ah, there's my girl." Your father declares from across the foyer, quickly excusing himself from his previous conversation with one of the chefs to approach you.
"Hi, dad." You smile, happy to see him for once. He's a simple creature, as most men tend to be, and his presence offers a reprieve from your complex situation with Rosé. He's been better as of late, be it in the gentleness of his tone or how he actually credits you for your ideas, and you're relieved for such a change.
You wrap your arms around his shoulders and let him spin you, feeling for a moment as you did when you were a child.
"How are you feeling? Min-suh said that you've not been doing so good these past few days." He asks, setting you back on the ground as he brings the back of his hand up to your cheek lovingly.
"I'm fine, father. Just a bit stressed, but I'll be alright." You nod, wrapping your fingers around his wrist and letting them rest there for a moment.
"Did something happen with Roseanne? I'm sorry if I pushed you too hard or made you feel forced into befriending her. I just thought it would be good for you to--"
Your chest tightens at the mention of her, but you push that feeling away, opting to cut off his rambling. "I promise that everything is okay. Believe me, dad, I'd let you know otherwise."
He nods with a sigh, accepting your words after a minute or two.
"Alright, well now that that's out of the way, let's go get settled at the table. I had the cooks prepare some of your favorites."
You thank him as the two of you fall in step with one another, linking your arm with his tenderly.
At The Dinner Table
A sharp gasp rips out of your throat as you feel a freezing sensation spread across your lap, followed by a rush of apologies from the waitress beside you.
Her hands immediately dart to your thighs in an attempt to dry as much of the water as she can before it seeps too far into the material of your pants, and Rosé subconsciously clenches her jaw. So far, since the beginning of dinner, the waitress has not-so-subtly flirted with you and attempted to get your attention.
Dropping silverware beside you and bending down slowly to retrieve it, always being the first to volunteer to get you whatever you need, and now this? It's safe to say that Rosé is jealous.
It doesn't help that you seem to enjoy the attention, or at least think it's amusing. The humored smile that works its way onto your face after any interaction with the girl hurts the princess for many reasons, but the most obvious of them all is that she wishes to be the one putting that smile on your face.
Just days ago she was a main reason for your happiness and laughter, and now that spot is being filled, it seems.
It doesn't help that you've been avoiding her all night, either. Any attempts to start conversation eventually fizzle out or fail to take flight all together, upsetting her more than you know.
The line is drawn towards the end of dinner, though, when her father suggests something that makes her heart drop.
Queen Soomin laughs along with whatever new joke her husband had said, though you haven't been paying that much attention. You've pretended to, but you've been too busy stealing occasional glances at Rosé to have an honest clue of what they're talking about. When they address you by name, however, you're forced to actually listen.
"Y/N, we were hoping to get your input on something, seeing as how you have such a strong place in the court."
You nod, tilting your head to the side to let them know you're paying attention as you continue to chew the food in your mouth.
"We'd like to propose a marriage opportunity. Our eldest daughter, Alice, is already promised to another, but seeing as how we're forming an alliance with your kingdom, it's only fitting that we offer Roseanne's hand."
You notice how Rosé stops chewing and quietly sets her silverware down onto her plate, eliciting an almost inaudible clink from it.
When they continue, further clarifying their proposition, you feel your heart sink.
"We were wondering if you support this idea," the king starts, looking to his wife before finishing their inquiry, "If you do, who's the most eligible bachelor of your kingdom?"
You didn't think that their views on marriage would magically change, but hearing the word bachelor crushed your spirit a bit.
"What do you think, princess?" You father asks, methodically driving the sharp edge of his knife into his steak as he glances up at you.
You bite back the sadness that threatens to make itself evident in your voice as you respond, "Yes sir, I think that would work well. My cousin, Jackson, is a great candidate. I think he and Rosé would get along well." You glance at her, swallowing when you see the emotion pooling in her eyes.
Is she sad?
Before your staring can become obvious to everyone, you turn your attention back to her parents. "He's very kind, but he's not afraid to protect those close to him. He lives in Yang Province, just a day's ride away or so. We could invite him here, if you'd like." You shrug, looking to your father for backup.
They smile, seemingly happy at the idea of that.
"That sounds wonderful, Y/N. Thank you," Soomin says, lowering her head slightly to show her gratitude. You offer back a half-hearted smile before turning back to the plate in front of you, though you're no longer interested in the food on it.
Perhaps this is for the best. You want Rosé to be happy and married to someone who respects and protects her, and luckily Jackson is someone who can provide that. He can make her a mother, as she's told you she wants to be someday, and they can live well together.
Selfishly, though, you want her for your own.
Although your relationship is a bit rocky at the moment, you've never felt as carefree as you do with her. No one else has provided the same level of comfort and joy as her, and the thought of living without it truly hurts.
But for her, you're willing to hurt.
You're okay with only seeing her on the holidays, when Duchess Heejin and Jackson come up to visit. You'll make your peace with it in time, because you'd do anything to see her happy.
That thought alone makes you feel like you've been untrue to yourself, because you've gone against every rule you ever set. From the beginning, you promised yourself you wouldn't let her in -- you wouldn't get too close, but just enough to have her lower her guard so you could get revenge -- but she flipped the script on you and left you with no way to recover.
The thought of hurting her hurts you, and you know you're screwed as soon as you realize that. You're mad at yourself for being so weak.
"Father, I'm not feeling the greatest right now. If I may, I'll go up to my room to rest."
King Kwan turns to you with furrowed brows, face full of concern. "Alright, my girl. I'll ask Min-suh to bring you some medicine."
"Thank you, sir. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your dinner," you announce, standing up and nodding to the Parks. "I apologize for leaving early."
"No need to apologize, Y/N. Feel better soon." Hyun says, pressing his lips into a thin line to show his worry.
With one final bow, you head off to your room even sadder than you were before coming down.
----
15 Minutes Later
*knock knock*
"Come in," you sigh, letting the sleeves of your overcoat slide down your arms. You toss it over the chest that lays at the foot of your bed, pushed against the frame. As you begin to casually undo the first few buttons of your blouse, thinking the person coming in was Min-suh, you're jolted to attention by the angry sound of Rosé's voice.
"What the hell was that, Y/N?" She all but shouts, shutting the heavy door behind herself. You spin to face her, doing your best to keep your expression neutral, "What was what, Rosé? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb, princess," she scoffs, sending a chill down your spine with the lowness of her voice. "Why would you support my parents' marriage suggestion?" She crosses her arms, a scowl knitting her eyebrows together in a painfully gorgeous way.
You bite your lip, contemplating your next move. "What's it to you? I figured you'd be happy to lock in my family's fortune and resources, considering you're a Park." You shrug, allowing the cold phrase to easily slip past your lips. She looks taken aback by your rebuttal, rendered momentarily speechless, and you take the opportunity to slip your boots off and walk towards your washroom.
Before long, she follows after, announcing her pursuit with every angry click of her fancy heels against the floor. "You have some nerve, talking about us like that." She retorts, walking to the side of your sink to watch as you splash water on your face. You chuckle, keeping your eyes closed as you attempt to let the cool liquid hold your contempt at bay.
"Me? You're so blind, Roseanne. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it your father who started an unnecessary war that resulted in countless casualties, just for the sake of proving a point?" You bite back, leaning down to dry your face off with a nearby cloth. "My father may be an idiot sometimes, but at least he isn't selfish enough to send innocent citizens to fight his battles for him."
You turn to walk away after that, but you're met with a swift slap to the face before you can.
You draw back, bringing a hand up to your cheek when you feel warmth spread to the area of impact. A few droplets of crimson blood leak from the new cut -- the result of one of Rosé's rings slicing across your soft skin.
You laugh at that, shaking your head in disbelief as you dab at the wound with your cloth, "Like father like daughter, it seems. So impulsive."
"What is your problem with me, Y/N?"
"You're asking me what my problem is when you just slapped me?"
"Answer the question."
"I don't owe you anything, Roseanne. Why do you even care so much, huh?" You ask, taking a step closer to her to switch the roles and intimidate her. "If you get married to my cousin, you'll move off of this estate and live with every luxury you could ever dream of. You'd rarely even have to see me," you clench your jaw and use all your power to keep from showing your aversion to that idea. "It seems to be exactly what you want, so what's the harm in me boosting their idea?"
She takes a few steps back just as you take another one forward, softly colliding with the wall. The stone digs into her back as she presses herself up against it, doing all she can to put extra distance between the two of you. She never meant to cut your face, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't make you look 10 times more attractive right now. The predatory look in your eye, paired with the cockiness laced in your voice is sending every alarm in her head into overdrive, and she can feel her heartbeat picking up. She tells herself it's only because of the argument, but she knows that's a lie.
"Are you seriously so stupid that I have to spell it out for you? Everyone spoke of your intelligence, but I've yet to see it." She raises her head, attempting to appear confident in order to put some doubt in your mind and get you to back down.
"Don't test me, princess. Cut the shit." You warn, tilting your head to the side. The last straw comes in the form of you taking one final, deliciously torturous step towards her, invading her personal space in all the ways she's been wanting you to ever since you met.
She eyes you for a moment before muttering a quiet, "Fuck it," and leaning in.