All Chapters of ACROSS THE RED ROSE GARDEN : Chapter 1 - Chapter 6

ACROSS THE RED ROSE GARDEN : THE DECISION Arabella's POV “Why Father? Why should I marry that monster?” My voice cracked, tears blurring my vision as I dropped to my knees, crawling toward him. “I'm sorry for whatever I did wrong. Please, I promise I'll fix it. Just don't make me marry him, Father.” I clutched his trousers with trembling hands but he didn’t move. He only stared down at me with an expression I had never seen before. Cold. Emotionless. As though he had already made peace with destroying my life. Behind him, Mother stood with tears streaming silently down her face. I released his legs and crawled towards her instead, wrapping my arms around her knees. “Mother… you won't let him do this, will you?” She covered her mouth, struggling to hold back a sob, and something inside me shattered. “You don't love me anymore, do you?” Her head snapped up. “No, Arabella. Don't ever say that.” “Then stop him!” My voice echoed through the room, but she looked away a

ACROSS THE RED ROSE GARDEN :THE RECKONING I scoffed, as my eyes remained fixed on the blood. "And you couldn’t even have the decency to respect it. I mean what’s were you thinking killing on your wedding day?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. Alessandro didn't answer. He simply unbuttoned the buttons of his collar, threw his jacket onto a nearby chair before turning his blue, unreadable gaze back to me. “Let's get one thing straight, Arabella,” he said, closing the space between us, as his voice dropping into a cold, lethal baritone that left no argument. “You wear my name now, but do not mistake a ring for an invitation. You will stay in your lane. You will play the part of the doting, submissive bride when the family is watching. Other than that, you will stay out of my business, out of my way, and out of my sight. Do you understand me?” His words were calm. Too calm. But the raw arrogance radiating off him made the panic in my chest instantly morph into a

ACROSS THE RED ROSE GARDEN : DEATH The moment the mansion disappeared from the rearview mirror, the doting, protective husband from the dining room evaporated, leaving behind the cold, lethal stranger I had spent the night with. He pulled out a handkerchief and aggressively wiped the spots where his cheeks had brushed mine for his parents’ display before tossing it onto the leather console between us. “About last night,” Alessandro said, his voice dropping into the same harsh, cutting baritone he had used. He didn’t look at me. His gaze remained fixed coldly on the road ahead. “Don’t get ahead of yourself because of the theater back there. I had syndicate business to attend to. I don’t owe you an apology for leaving you to return home alone, but it was unprofessional to let my family see the cracks in our arrangement. It won’t happen again.” I hid my racing pulse behind a cold, mocking smile, refusing to let him see how much his sudden shift stung. “No explanation is ne