“She said that?”, she sits up straight as we take sips of our coffee.

The moment I got back, I ran to her room and launched into the story. The shock mixed in with anger on her face tells me that she is not a fan of what Belle did.

“I know right? She’s the one that cheated on him!”, I yell out into the room.

I wish I had a backbone. I would have stood up to her.

If I was more like Gigi I’m sure I would have said something cool but equally theatening .

“So are you going to tell Alexander?”. She takes a big gulp of her coffee. Gigi has a caffeine addiction that surpases mine.

I shrug, “I probably have to”.

I leave Gigi to do her work, as I keep myself busy with studying. College is the one thing that is helping navigate life in a somewhat sane state.

With Bryce and no Belle, I don’t have time to be dealing with drama.

As I have mentioned before, I am not someone who likes conflict.

It’s as if the universe hears my thoughts as my phone rings with a call from Alexander.

“Hey Lex”.

“Rose, are you okay. I just got informed of your bumping into Belle”.

How did he hear about that so quickly?

The worry in his voice calms down my nerves.

This man cares about me.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”. Do I tell him about what she said?

“Are you sure?”. He sounds on edge.

“Babe, I’m sure”.

I hear an intake of breath, “Did you just call me what I think you called me”. I can hear by his tone that he has a grin plastered on his face.

He is far from me but I am blushing like he is right here.

“No, I didn’t”, the heat in my cheeks is too much. I can feel my ears becoming hot too.

Why did my mouth have to go and say that?

“Right, I believe you”, he says even though I know he is not anywhere near the point of believing me.

“Don’t you have billions to make?”. I playfully scold him.

“That I do have. I’ll check on you later babe”. He emphasises the last word.

“Aren’t you almost 40? Why are you so childish?”.

I laugh along with him when he bursts into laughter at my words.

“You keep me young Miss Jones”. My subconscious swoons.

We hang up after that.

You didn’t tell him about the threat.

I know that. I don’t think that it’s even a big deal. What is Belle going to do to me? She doesn’t even look like she could hold her own in a fight.

I don’t even think that it would come to a fight but if it does, she better bring it. I may be small and shy but when it comes to defending myself I am good at throwing hands.

And sis better be ready to catch them.

A call from an unfamiliar number wakes me up from my slumber the following day.

I really wanted to sleep in.

Who is calling me at 11am on a Friday morning?

Groaning, I answer the call.

“Hello?”, my voice laced with sleep.

A perky, familiar voice speaks on the other end, “Rosalie, how are you?”.

“I’m good. How are you?”. I sit up and rub the sleep away from my eyes.

“Great! Would you have lunch with me?”, she asks.

Why is she so energetic at this time of the morning?

No one should be this happy before midday.

“Yes, I would love to. Text me the time and address”. I move towards my closet to look for an outfit.

“Cool, I’ll do that now. It’s Isadora by the way”. She laughs and I smile at the sound.

She has a beautiful laugh like her brother.

“I figured it was you. Let me get ready”.

“See you later”, she hollers into the phone.

Isadora is such a bubbly person. I’ve met her once and she already considers me her friend. I save her number and then go have a shower.

The weather is looking great today. The sun is shining, bringing warmth onto the cold air.

I put on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a white tshirt and a black weist length leather jacket. The strappy heels Alexander bought for me complete my outfit.

My hair is tied onto its signature low bun, getting a black purse I make my out the door.

Isadora wanted to meet up at this beautiful vintage ballroom bistro. The interior is filled with natural light that comes in from the floor to ceiling windows.

The theme is dark wood floors, cushioned metal seats and deep dark red booths.

Plant life sprouts and flourishes, wrapping their vines and leafy branches onto the pillars that hold the ceiling. This is by far one of the coolest places I have ever been to.

It doesn’t even take me a minute to spot Isadora. She looks bigger than the last time I saw her. Her belly protrudes through the black maxi dress she paired up with a denim jacket and a pair of sandals on her swollen feet.

If this is what pregnancy does to your body, I don’t think that I would be cut out for it.

We hug each other, her belly pressed up against my small one.

A waiter comes over to take our orders, he immediately leaves after he writes them down on his notepad.

“So, how’s life been”, her smile is blindingly bright as she asks me.

“It’s okay”.

She scoffs, “Just okay? You’re dating my brother. Life is never okay with him around”.

I can tell she is joking by the huge smile on her face. A blush creeps up my cheeks. That makes her smile widen.

“Aww, you really like him. This is so cute”.

Our food arrives and we continue with the topic of me dating her older brother. She is actually taking this well. I thought she would not be supportive of us.

“I’m just glad Anabelle is out of his life. I told him that dating a girl that shares a name with a creepy, evil doll was a bad idea.”

I burst onto a fit of giggles at her doll analogy.

“But he didn’t listen to me because he is Alexander Cain and he does whatever he wants. He is such an idiot sometimes”, she continues with her rant.

It’s actually very nice to listen to her.

Being an only child, I’ve always wanted to have a sibling. I would always feel lonely when I saw how my friends from school would tease their siblings. I wanted to have that kind of connection with someone.

That’s why I consider Gigi to be my sister . She is the closest to a sibling that I could ever get. And both our parents know that, even though she grew up with two brothers. I think she also wanted to have a sisterly connection with someone, as much I did.

“Gosh, I am so tired, I can’t wait for this baby to come out.” she says coming back from a trip to the bathroom.

She’s been peeing constantly but that does not stop her from ordering more apple juice.

According to her it’s been the one thing she has been drinking a lot of, besides water.

“You kno-” she doesn’t finish her sentence as a look of horror comes to her face.

“Isa, what’s wrong”, I worriedly ask.

“It’s either I peed myself or my water just broke”. She looks down onto the floor as the liquid runs down from her leg. “My water definitely broke”.

Panic wraps it’s cold fingers around my throat. “What do you need me to do?”

She hands over her phone to me, “Call Tommy and tell him the baby is coming. I need to get up from this wet chair”.

As she tries to stand, I quickly call her husband. He picks up on the first ring, “Dory, Honey I’m in a meet-”

“Tommy, it’s Rosalie. Isadora’s water just broke”.

I hear him take a sharp breath, “The baby’s coming?” he excitedly asks.

This makes me smile, “Yes, we’re about to leave for the hospital”

“I’ll meet you there”, he says before hanging up.

I grab our stuff and help her walk out of the door. I tried paying for our meal but the manager said we should leave it. He seemed so excited as if he was the one who was going to have a baby.

Her driver, Bennett opens the car door for us as we slip into the backseat. She groans in pain as a contraction hits.

“When I said I wanted the baby out, I didn’t mean right now!” she shouts in pain.

Sheeesh.. This is going to be one long ride.

Thankfully we make it to the hospital quickly. Tommy and a nurse were already waiting at the entrance with a wheelchair that Isadora sits on.

They wheel her into the hospital while I walk in with Alexander who was with Tommy when we arrived. Isadora’s whimper of pain echoes throughout the reception area.

She gets assigned to a private ward that we pile into. A male doctor comes in with a chart.

“Doctor Stewart , can I push now?” she asks. Her eyes filled with hope. I can tell she wants to get this over and done with.

The man with salt and pepper hair chuckles at her impatience, “Not, you’re not fully dilated yet.”.

“What?! I need this child out of me now!”.

The doctor shakes his head, “Unfortunately for you , we have to wait a while. I’ll be back to check on you later”, he leaves us with an angry Isadora and a freaked out Tommy.

I bet he has never seen her like this. He tries to comfort her by holding her hand when another contraction hits.

“Tommy, I swear you are never having sex with me ever again!”.

His eyes go wide as saucers at her words. This is a tragedy for him to hear.

Damn Tommy.

Sorry my dude but you did do this to her.

Twenty hard hours later, she finally gives birth to a little girl.

Shiloh Emilia Renton. She has her father’s eyes, and her mother’s nose.

Walking into the room, I smile at the sight of the happy family. Tommy is crying as he holds his daughter. This hunk of a man is an emotional mess over this little person he helped create.

I wipe the trail of wetness on my own cheeks. Alexander checks on his sister who is exhausted from labour. She looks like she could sleep for a week.

Tommy hands over little Shiloh to Alexander. I would be lying if I said the sight does not give me baby fever. It looks natural for him to hold a baby in his arms.

I want that for him. As if on cue, Isadora echoes my thoughts out into the room.

“You’re next Rosie”, she says with a wink. Tommy grins right along with her.

Alexander does not pay attention to us as he is lost in his own little world with Shiloh. This makes more baby fever come over me as I watch him kiss her little baby hands.

“I made him an uncle, now he must make me an aunt”, she continues to tease me.

Or is she serious?

You never know with the Cain family. I walk to him and his niece. She is really a pretty girl. Tommy is going to have to fend off some boys in the future.

Alexander hands me the baby and then he starts staring at me. His eyes have an emotion that I can’t quite put my finger on. He has on this dopey smile on his face, like a cat that got all the cream.

Is he thinking the same thing I was about him a few moments ago?