Chapter 3: Aiming for Something More

*Rosie Fay-Donovan*

The next morning, I got out of the house earlier than usual. I had no idea if Archie was still at home, but I wasn’t in the mood to see him again after last night.

I knew he wouldn’t try to explain anything to me, but listening to him trying to make small talk also wasn’t in my plans before breakfast.

I rushed to the office, hoping that occupying my time with work would be more beneficial than staying at home and feeling sorry for myself.

Cherry Fay Cosmetics would be having a launch party in a few weeks, so there was a lot to prepare. The employees were in a frenzy making sure that everything was perfect, so I had better things to worry about.

As soon as I walked through the door, the few people who were already inside greeted me with a smile and a bunch of questions about the party organization.

No matter how hard I tried to focus on the tasks at hand though, I couldn’t keep my mind in it for more than five minutes. Archie’s face was constantly haunting my thoughts and making me wonder if he was okay.

I knew he was. He didn’t seem that hurt last night. Not after I cleaned his wounds and saw that it wasn’t that much of a big deal. I didn’t check his body though, but I judged by the way he normally was that he’d be fine. Maybe I should’ve asked.

“Rosie?” A low voice took me out of my reverie. Turning on my heels, I saw that Henry Lowe was staring at me from behind his glasses, watching me in amusement with a wide smile on his face.

Henry was one of my investors, a rich guy who seemed to be entertained by simply putting his money into every company he could manage.

He was a fine man with brown eyes, and blonde hair, tall, masculine, with an acquired taste for suits and watches. I didn’t remember ever seeing him use the same suit more than once.

Not to mention, he was someone who was easy to deal with and I constantly found myself having fun around him. However, he had no way to compete with Archie, in any aspect, no matter how much he tried.

And he did. More than I’d like to admit. Henry was constantly flirting with me and trying to make me see ‘what a wonderful woman I was, and someone who deserved to be valued’.

He wasn’t wrong, I knew that. But I wasn’t the type of woman to have an affair. I didn’t want to.

“Good morning, Henry. I wasn’t expecting your visit here this morning. Is everything okay?” I asked with a soft smile, accepting the kiss he placed on my cheek.

“Yeah, I was just too early for a meeting, so I thought I would drop by and see how you’re doing,” he explained. “I know you’re preparing for the launch of your new collection, so I wanted to check if you needed anything.”

“You're so sweet,” I replied. “But everything is good. I don’t need anything for now, but I’ll definitely ask my assistant to contact you if I find something you can be helpful with.”

I flashed him a smile and gestured for him to follow me to my office. But before we managed to reach the door, someone else called my name, and I didn’t need to turn to see that it was Sienna, my best friend and business partner.

Sienna Bronson had been my sidekick ever since we were kids. She came from a very wealthy family and thought it would be fun to be my partner when I told her about my plans to open a cosmetic company.

Not that I needed one—or the money—but I thought it’d be nice to have someone special doing business with me and helping me navigate the market.

Sienna was also married and had two beautiful kids who I adored. She was a lovely woman, an amazing mother and friend, and an even better businesswoman. She always made sure to say everything to my face, which was one of the things I loved about her, but keeping control of her tongue was hard sometimes.

“Mrs. Bronson, what a pleasure to see you,” Henry greeted her as soon as she approached us. They exchanged a brief hug, and Sienna snapped her head at me as soon as she stepped away from him.

“It’s a pleasure to see you too, Henry, but unfortunately, I have to take Rosie from you. We have some important stuff to discuss, and it can’t wait.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. What was she talking about? Did something happen that I wasn’t aware of?

“Of course. Don’t let me keep you from your business. I just stopped by to see if you guys needed me for anything.”

“You're so sweet,” Sienna repeated my same words without knowing and flashed him a smile that I named her ‘money smile’.

I knew she liked Henry, but she also had some reservations about him.

I widened my eyes at her, silently asking if something was wrong, but she simply shook her head at me and turned to look at Henry again. He seemed to take that as his cue to leave, so he nodded at us and excused himself, saying we should call if something came up that required his assistance.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” I asked as soon as he was out of our sight.

Sienna sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically before turning to me.

“Yes, I just had a terrible night since Carter is still sick and Maya keeps crying at night saying she misses her daddy,” Sienna explained with a shrug. She sounded and looked tired, and at times like this, I was grateful Archie and I had no kids.

I wanted to have them one day, of course, but we were definitely not at that stage in our marriage. I doubted we’d ever be.

“When is Ezra coming home by the way?” I tried to calm her as we headed toward the coffee shop downstairs. It had been our daily spot ever since we opened the company.

“He’s in Tokyo to sign a contract, so it’s hard to say. I’m guessing another week or two,” Sienna replied, holding the elevator door for me. “He’ll be back for our launch party though.”

“I'm happy to hear it.”

I could feel Sienna’s eyes burning a hole in my face, but I didn’t dare to look at her. I knew she would bombard me with questions as soon as I did. I’d better wait until I had a cup of coffee in front of me, so I would have the strength to go through her morning dose of gossip.

Funny how my life seemed to be a hell of a lot more interesting to her than to myself.

We both ordered our usual—black coffee for me and caramel macchiato for her—and went to our usual spot in the corner of the shop. As soon as our coffees were served, Sienna took a sip of her own, crossed her legs, and looked at me as if she was preparing to interview a new intern.

“So, tell me, what’s new at the Fay-Donovan manor?”

I laughed softly before sipping from my coffee. The warmth made my whole body flutter, welcoming the feeling of having some caffeine in my system.

“I don’t know why you have the impression something new happened. It hasn’t in two years, so why would now be any different?” I teased.

Sienna knew about the kind of life Archie and I had. I never hid anything from her either, so she was more than aware of the kind of marriage I was living in. But she always believed Archie hid something else behind his cold demeanor toward me.

“You always say the same thing, and I always end up hearing something new. Just tell me what happened in the past couple of days,” Sienna insisted, leaning forward and sulking dramatically at me. “I need some gossip, Rosie. Please. I’m dying from boredom at home with those two.”

I shrugged, fidgeting with my cup of coffee while I considered what to tell her. Last night had been a bit different than usual. I didn’t remember ever taking care of Archie’s wounds before. Maybe that would be something she’d be happy to hear about.

“Alright, I might have something for you then.” I watched her face light up as she pulled the chair forward, even though there was no more space in front of her.

“Hit me.”

“Archie came home late again last night and barely stayed for five minutes until someone called him,” I started. “He left, but for some reason, I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to wait for him to return.”

Sienna’s eyes widened at me. “That’s new.”

“I know.” I nodded. “I was just worried, I don’t know. He came home covered in blood and bruises, so I cleaned the wounds for him.”

“Uh-oh! That sounds spicy. What happened?” Sienna encouraged. “Did you guys have a moment?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I would have told you as soon as I saw you if that had happened, don’t you think?”

“Hm, guess you’re right. So, then what? You cleaned his wounds and that’s it?”

“Well, pretty much, yes. He thanked me, but we kind of had this awkward moment where we stared at each other, and I may or may not have had some inappropriate thoughts.”

Sienna burst out laughing, almost choking on her coffee. I couldn’t help but laugh too, because, well, it was kind of a funny situation I was in. I might as well laugh at it. It was better than to cry and feel sorry for myself, that’s for sure.

“You should just do something, girl. Just do your thing and make your husband see what he’s missing.”

“If only it was that easy. Archie is as stubborn as a door, you know him,” I replied, frustrated.

“Yeah, but he needs to know you won’t be waiting for him forever. How long can you stay lonely like this? And it’s not like you don’t have other options, you know? Henry is a bit insistent and all, but he’s a hunky.”

I smiled widely at her. “A what?”

“A hunky. Isn’t that what the kids say these days?”

“You make it sound like you’re in your late fifties,” I joked.

“Well, sometimes it feels like it. Just taking care of the kids and not having my husband at home to f*ck me and take my mind off things does that.”

I drank from my coffee, thankful that Sienna had asked me for a bonding moment. I was definitely in need of it but hadn’t realized it until now.

“Anyway, either Archie opens his eyes and sees what he’s missing, or Prince Henry will come and snatch you from under his nose.”

“Don't be stupid. I can’t cheat on Archie,” I pointed out.

“Is it really cheating if you two have nothing more than a piece of paper keeping you together?” Sienna asked, eyeing me carefully.

Well, she did have a point there. What Archie and I had was a mere contract that our fathers had prepared and decided for us. None of it was our decision.

But then, why did I feel like I would be cheating on him if I so much as thought about someone else? Why couldn’t I think about another man like I thought about him?