A Ruin Of Roses Novels & Stories

He helped her to the car, then he drove his car to His Grace Hotel. Rain thought they were going on a simple, casual date to ease back into life, completely unaware that the two most important men in her world had already cleared the path for her new beginning. A spectacular display of thousands of Juliet roses lined the glass borders, infusing the space with an air of pure romance. Their soft peach petals glowed under the warm, ambient lighting, filling the cool night air with a delicate, sweet fragrance. Rain walked onto the rooftop, her hand lightly resting on Maddox’s arm. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening as she took in the stunning sea of rare roses.

I had to give it a quick thought and realized that the middle aged woman who had walked in here without any form of defense had no ulterior motive. Ricardo had really sent her, seeing how he enjoyed breaking the rules especially when it came down to me. . . . Few minutes after the woman—Rose—had helped me dress up, completely transforming me into an extreme beauty, we both took a walk all the way through the rose garden to the water fountain. I felt excited and happy. I felt so good in my skin, seeing how I looked like a princess in my beautiful white dress. I felt bright. "Where is this place?" I asked in confusion when she pointed me toward the entrance of what seemed like a cave.

Its petals, once vibrant and full of life, were now delicate and brittle, its color faded over time. As I held the dried rose, an unexpected image flashed before my eyes. It was Stassie, her radiant smile lighting up her face. It was a smile that could outshine the sun, a smile that had the power to make anyone's day brighter. The rose, in its silent beauty, reminded me of her.

“Ruchee?” I turned around so fast that I nearly lost my balance. Reign was walking toward me with a bouquet of red roses in his hand, a soft smile resting on his lips, clearly unaware that my world had already shattered in the few minutes he had left me alone. But the moment his eyes landed on the phone clutched in my trembling hand, that smile disappeared. The color drained from his face, and the bouquet slipped from his fingers. The roses fell helplessly onto the grass, red petals scattering beneath the candlelight like drops of blood.

"It’s the red rose again," I whispered, staring at the single blood-red rose lying in the middle of the shattered glass. My pulse pounded in my ears, a chill creeping up my spine. "Adrian… why do we keep seeing red roses these days? Do you think… someone’s trying to send us a message?" Adrian stepped closer, his gaze hardening as he studied the rose. "A message?" I nodded slowly, unable to tear my eyes away from the ominous flower. "Yes. And whoever it is… they’re willing to go to extreme lengths. We need to be careful."

“Rose-“ But before I could even finish my word, I felt a hand wrap around my waist and then I was being lifted up and off of the floor and the world went black. **** “You can open your eyes now.” The first thing I noticed as Damien lowered me to the ground was the intense smell of black roses. Since they were different from normal roses, they had a distinct smell which was richer and stronger than any other rose in the world. It was also the only rose that stayed in bloom for an entirety of two months. As I had expected, when I opened my eyes, I was no longer standing in the Shelter, in the middle of the ocean, but in the inner gardens of Damien’s castle, the place where we first met.

Something so ugly and uncomfortable. “There is a rose in the middle of the chaos,” Sia said, her voice soft but piercing as she looked at the painting again. “Do you know what it symbolizes?” “Beauty?” he ventured cautiously. Sia turned to him with a small, knowing smile. “Close. It is love. The artist created a scenario where love is akin to war—devastating, all-consuming, and yet strangely beautiful. The rose is a symbol of love that stands amidst the destruction, all alone, left to bear the consequences.”

Like a wicked vixen whispering malicious chants to his soul, her smile glistened as her lips gave into a chuckle. “I think you may have secured my pity fuck…such a great wingman.” His hand itched to clench her throat the more she spewed her venomous words, but there would be a ball soon, and he would bruise her. There was no way he would touch her without bruising her. "What the fuck are you playing at, Ruby?" "Get rid of the roses for as long as I am here." "What?" "The roses, I want them gone." "Are you out of your mind?"

I took the first drag and blew the smoke towards her face. That seemed to do the trick, her eyes snapped open. Revealing the puffiness and redness it had hidden. "ah, I see. You want a smoke right? " I lifted the cigarette to her face. Her sullen gaze metamorphosed into a glare. I chuckled softly and took another drag of the cigarette and dispelled the smoke in her face again. Her eyelids fluttered for a few seconds, when she finally glared back at me again, there was moisture shining under her lower lids. I was sure the moisture wasn't because she was crying.

It smelled sweeter, but she could not figure out the other part of this rose fragrance. “Lovely isn’t it?” Vastria turned around to where the voice came from. The voice was warm and not startling. Lily Rosenburg stood before her with a few cut roses in her arms, clearly de-thorned. “I have never seen anything like this rose.” Vastria responded turning back to the rose.