Rose was trying hard to hold hope by the heels and prevent it from running away from there, but every day it was becoming more difficult.Sitting at one of the garden tables, her mind torn between hoping Alec was doing well on his math test and concentrating on what she was doing, Rose sighed as she stared at the many bills and expense and earnings projections before her. In fact, it was partly her fault for being so optimistic as to think she might be able to build her own business during her stay in this house, since as long as she had plans but no money, none of it would ever get off the ground. Especially not her childhood dream of opening a bakery, something she should have known she should have put behind her a long time ago. She needed to be realistic and focus on how she was going to find a place to live and a job for herself and Grace, when that torment finally came like this...But it was a little difficult to concentrate on that when the feeling of being wat

“Alec?” for the third time since they had left the office, Rose called out to him, trying to get him to lift his head resting on her shoulder, but to no avail. “Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick? Please darling, talk to me. Or I can take you back to your brothers, in case you're feeling so bad about missing them...""No..." Alec finally reacted, with a soft whimper, looking almost apprehensive."Are you sure?" she persisted, as she paused for a moment to place her hand on his forehead and check his temperature "If you're feeling unwell, I think we'd better let Andrea and Aaron know...""I... I don't want to hear them saying they hate me..." he sobbed softly, tears starting to trickle down his cheeks."What? Have they ever said that to you?” Rose gasped, not just horrified but furious, feeling like she could have turned around and punched Aaron Vamcap in the face right then and there."No, but... I know everyone hates me..." was

Upon reaching Alec's room, Rose immediately noticed that something was wrong. He still appeared to be lying in exactly the same position she'd left him in, although Jullian had left a sandwich and a note on the desk beside the bed, presumably advising him that he had to leave on Aaron's orders.Even without knowing exactly why she had that exasperating feeling when she saw his small sleeping body huddled between the sheets, Rose went to the door and opened the curtains a little, to let the last rays of afternoon sun light up the room a little more, figuring that a little light would help him get a little excited, when he woke up. Then she finally set the plateful of cookies down beside her, hoping the appetizing smell would also help wake him up, and sat down on the edge of Alec's bed, touching the part of the thick sheets that lay right over his arms. from him.“Hey, Alec. It's me, Rose. Guess what, I finally got permission to bake cookies.” she told him, in a gentle whisper,

"What did you say?" Aaron opened his eyes, immediately putting himself in a fighting stance, as if just the mere sound of her voice triggered that behavior in him.“The things I heard you say on the phone had very noticeable accounting errors.” she explained, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her gaze on his, to show that it wasn't a mere scowl that would startle her “Maybe it's not very obvious to anyone outside of this business, but if you get your accountant to review it, I'm sure...”“For your information, it was my personal accountant who I was talking to.” he revealed, staring at her like she should be ashamed of herself."Serious?" Rose blinked in disbelief "Well then, I'm sorry to break it to you, but you have the worst accountant in the world."“And on what basis do you say that about a professional who has been in the market for years?” Aaron rolled his eyes irritably.“With the foundation that three and a half years of college gave me.” she snort

“Do you really not hate me, Grandma?” Alec asked, his little face full of hope, but also fear."How could I? Regardless of who your mother is, I could never reject a Vamcap! It goes against all our family values, even if your father forgot most of them when he left home! How could I let him further damage our family's reputation by sending you to those two's home and letting Alphonse raise you to become like him?!" she persisted, so vehemently that Alec ended up cringing again "It's absolutely ridiculous to think that I, in the role of matriarch of our family, would do something like that..."“Uh… And now Grandma wanted to say that it doesn't matter if your mother is mean or not, Alec, because she knows what a wonderful little boy you are. And not only does she know it, but so does every other Vamcap, especially her brothers. So none of them would ever be able to hate you, let alone let you live in another house, even if it's your parents'." Rose cut her off, genuinely feeling