Mommy, I miss you,

After a long silence, Rolan finally asked again, and Rose's attention was yanked back to him.

She groaned inwardly.

Why is Rolan so damn stubborn? she thought. Can't he just keep quiet for once? Scroll through his phone, watch a movie—doesn't he have any other form of entertainment?

But no. He just had to pick a fight. Had to pester her when she clearly didn't want to talk.

"What kind of question is that?" Rose turned to him, her face locked in a frown.

"You seriously expect me to answer that?" she said coldly, then turned away and closed her eyes like she was falling asleep—completely dismissing his existence.

"Yeah," Rolan said, voice steady. "I want to know. You claim you don't love me, but I want to understand why you agreed to marry me."

When Rose had left, he'd felt miserable. Guilty. Broken.