Erik felt physically sick, as he waited for Rosaline's father to say or do something in response to his request. The middle aged man stood positively still, staring at Erik with an unexplainable look etched upon his face. It felt as if light years had passed before Mr Covault finally reacted. Surprisingly, he didn't utter a single word, but instead, stepped aside and motioned for Erik to come inside. Taking a much needed steady breath, Erik tentatively entered inside the Covault family home. As he slowly made his way through the hallway, he couldn't help but feel a grave sense of bitter remembrance. The last time Erik had found himself in this exact place, it was Rosaline's birthday with whom he was celebrating alongside her closest family and friends. Sadly, what had started out as the perfect celebration ended in tears and disbelieving agony. Rather than allowing himself to become vastly overwhelmed by negative emotions, he braved a stolid expression as he waited for Mr Covault to lead him further into the house. Just as Erik was about to take another step, he heard the dreaded voice that belonged to Rosaline's mother. It wasn't the fact that Erik disliked the woman with a burning passion or anything, but he did find it increasingly difficult to respect someone whom hadn't been Erik's biggest fan since their first meeting. Naturally, Erik understood Iris' fears for her daughter, but it still frustrated him to know that seeing him again would most likely cause further disdain and anger on her part. Nevertheless, with as much courage as he could possibly muster up, Erik slowly walked into the living room, just as he heard Mrs Covault sing out to her husband.

"Who was at the door, Conrad?" She politely questioned.

Just as the two men entered the silent room, Iris' attention was immediately captured by Erik's sheer presence. Her mouth hung slightly open and her eyes trailed all over his body, finally landing and remaining fixated on his eyes. It took mere seconds before the petite woman opened her relentless mouth once again, ready to unleash her distaste of him being in her home.

"Why are you here Erik? Surely you must understand by now that you're no longer welcome here." Iris straightforwardly said, as a way of addressing the elephant in the room.

"As I told your husband, I'm here today to try and help you understand that I am desperately in love with your daughter and what you saw transpire on her birthday was nothing more than an outrageous misunderstanding. No matter what happens between Rosaline and I, its important that I prove my innocence to you both." Erik answered in a determined voice.

"I think we ought to listen to what he has to say." Conrad added a short while afterward, thus causing his hesitant wife to suddenly meet her husband's gaze.

Erik took the words spoken by Rosaline's father, as permission to stay. He offered Iris a pleading look, before moving to take a seat on the couch where Conrad had already sat down. Erik felt both pairs of judgmental eyes on him, as he struggled to remain comfortable sitting in a room with Rosaline's parents. Despite being granted the opportunity to speak his truth, nothing could have prepared him for the mass amount of pressure he currently felt. Without further ado, Erik begun to explain everything he thought Iris and Conrad would want to know. As far as he was concerned, nothing was off limits if it meant he had a greater success rate at convincing them of his worthiness and love for Rosaline.

An hour or so had passed, during which time Erik had told Mr and Mrs Covault of his dealings with Bianca and each of major and minor events that led to that frightful kiss that was shared between them on Rosaline's birthday. There were moments when Erik was speaking where he could detect obvious signs of distress, such as when he spoke of his earlier dates with Rosaline where they spent valuable time getting to know one another. On the other hand, he also sensed a few tender moments displayed amongst Rosaline's parents, where they exchanged looks of pity and sadness, such as when Erik spoke about the loss of his unborn baby with which he shared with Bianca. By the time he had finished, he was slightly puzzled that neither were desperate to ask him any questions. If he were being perfectly honest, he were expecting to be bombarded with question upon question, in the hopes of trying to catch him out in a lie perhaps. Fortunately, it seemed that after all the talking and justifying Erik did that now more than ever, Iris and Conrad had a clearer understanding as to how and why he was falsely accused and framed for something that was very much out of his control.

"I appreciate you coming forward to tell my husband and I your story Erik, but to be frank, I'm not sure it'll change anything." Iris plainly stated, once Erik had concluded.

Whilst Erik was grateful for her honesty, it still didn't sit well with him knowing that he hadn't been able to change their minds and perspective of him entirely.

"I was afraid you would say that." Erik glumly responded, as he nervously twisted his fingers in his lap.

"What Iris means Erik is that the decision to repair and restore your relationship with our daughter will ultimately come down to the two of you and no amount of influence from us or her brothers will make her stay or walk away from you." Conrad truthfully spoke.

"The truth is, since she started dating you I couldn't help but notice her newfound confidence, independence and bravery and as he father I must admit at first I was terribly anxious that you were transforming our little girl into someone who she isn't. But if there's one thing I've come to learn it's that whilst she may be growing up into a fine, young lady I should view it as a symbol of maturity and strength and had she not met you perhaps she wouldn't have continued to blossom into the beautiful woman she is today." He sincerely added with a light smile.

Erik could feel his heart rate roar with acceleration upon hearing the kind words escape from Conrad's mouth. He was somewhat convinced that he imagined them for a split second, until of course he noted the apprehension yet thankful expression on his face. Regrettably, when Erik turned to observe Iris's gaze it seemed to small woman didn't necessarily agree and furthermore, needed additional coercing.

"I will admit Erik that whilst I am sorry for some of the misfortunes you've had to experience throughout your life, unlike my husband who might to some degree be able to move past what has happened, it is my duty as Rosaline's mother to teach and guide her in the right direction and I can't say that I believe she would be making the right choice by staying with you." Iris forthrightly explained.

Just as Erik was starting to build some faith in his potential reconciliation with Rosaline, Iris had just as easily quashed any signs of hope for the future. Once again, Erik felt helpless in trying to even convince himself at this point of his own value and worth to continue fighting for Rosaline.

"However..." Iris murmured gruffly sometime later, which instinctively caused Erik to hold his breath.

"As my husband pointed out, despite my greatest efforts to help Rosaline make the right decisions in life, she is her own woman after all and will eventually have to make her own choices, whether our family agree with them or not. We love our daughter and would sacrifice everything to make her happy. We only hope that should she choose to forgive you, that you can keep your promise and do the same." She finalised with a curt nod.