AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Forty-Four
Rose was startled awake by two people barging
into the room. After her eyes focused on her whereabouts, she realized who
those people were. "Hello, Mother," she said coldly. She didn't care
to acknowledge Cal.
"Rose, are you okay?" Ruth asked
her daughter. Ruth's concern for her daughter was evident on her face.
Rose looked at her mother in bewilderment.
"I'm as good as I'm ever going to be, Mother, considering that I've been
forced here against my will."
Ruth glanced at Cal. "So, Jack was
telling the truth," Ruth stated. Cal ignored Ruth's words. Instead, he
turned his attention to Rose.
"Rose, get up and get dressed. We are
leaving shortly," he demanded, the tone of his voice discouraging
argument. She looked at him defiantly, deciding to ignore the tone of his voice.
"Why should I take any commands from
you, Mr. Hockley?"
Cal's patience snapped then. He lunged for
Rose, holding her by her wrists tightly. "Because you will become my wife,
whether you like it or not! And wives are expected to obey their
husbands," he hissed into her face.
Tears came out of Rose's eyes, both from the
pain he was inflicting on her wrists and the terror that he caused to rise in
her throat. The look in his eyes was maniacal. Ruth looked at Cal in shock. She
had never seen Cal act so angry, or crazy, before. Jack was right. Cal was a
monster. A monster with money and power. She knew that this situation wasn't
good. Nevertheless, she had to try to get her daughter out of it.
"Mr. Hockley, the engagement is off. I
am taking my daughter home now." Ruth gestured for Cal to let her daughter
go.
He laughed bitterly. "Home? You won't
have a home for much longer, Ruth. I am your only chance; Rose must marry me
for your survival. Surely you know that."
Mr. Buff came in then, holding a gun in his
right hand. Both Rose and Ruth gasped at the same time. "Is there a
problem in here, Mr. Hockley?" Mr. Buff asked as he held the gun
threateningly.
Cal loosened his grip on Rose's wrists, but
didn't let her go. "I don't know. Is there a problem here, ladies?"
Cal looked into Rose's fearful blue eyes menacingly. Rose shook her head while
Ruth froze in fear. "There's no problem here…at the moment. Please bring
the car around, Mr. Buff. We all have a meeting to attend." Mr. Buff
nodded before leaving the room.
"I'm sorry for scaring you. Everything
will be fine. We will go and meet Mr. Dawson, get the diamond back. Then, we
will be married, Rose," Cal said with a sudden calmness. He let Rose go
before turning toward Ruth. "The wedding will be beautiful, Ruth. It will
be everything that we all have dreamed of."
Ruth shook her head in wonder. "Mr.
Hockley, why are you so desperate to marry my daughter? Any woman would give up
their right arm to marry you. Why Rose?"
"I love Rose. She is everything that
I've always wanted. But even as nice as love is, it's not the only reason. I
will not get my inheritance unless I marry Rose. I guess you could say that my
father is getting impatient. This is my third engagement." Ruth and Rose
looked at him in astonishment.
"The third? I bet the first two ran as
far away from you as possible," Rose said bitterly.
Cal smirked. "They didn't have the fire
that you have, darling. It would never have worked. I left them both. Can you
imagine how angry my father was when I told him?" Cal laughed lightly as
he pictured his father's steel gaze.
"Of course, he kept my broken
engagements under wraps. They just faded into the background. That's why you've
never known about them. But when you and I announced our engagement, my father
went public with it, as you know. It was his way of insuring that I would go
through with the wedding this time. Can't have the Hockley name ruined,"
he rambled on.
He looked into Rose's eyes with an intensity
that she had never seen from him before. "But this time I want to go on
with the wedding. I love you, Rose."
Rose looked at him, her eyes flashing.
"If you loved me, you wouldn't have forced yourself on me!" she
cried.
Ruth gasped. She couldn't believe that she
had been too blind to see Caledon Hockley's true nature. It was her fault that
Rose had gone through so much pain. Rose looked into her mother's eyes and saw
something that she had not seen in a long time. She saw that Ruth did in fact
love her. Cal's voice turned Rose's attention back to him.
"But Sweetpea, we made a child together.
Surely you can't regret that?"
Rose smirked at him. "Why do you assume
that the child I'm carrying is yours? You know as well as I do that Jack could
just as well be the father, and in my heart, he is, and always will be."
She knew that her words would anger him.
He narrowed his dark eyes. "Don't you
ever mention that scum's name again! Do you understand me?" he yelled, as
he took Rose by the shoulders and shook her. "You will get that scum out
of your head! I demand that you never breathe his name again!" he
continued to yell, getting angrier by the second.
Rose held her head high. She kept the fear
hidden deep inside. "Don't you ever call him scum again! He is a better
man than you are, Caledon Hockley. At least he knows how to love."
Ruth watched their exchange in shock. She was
speechless. Rose was pregnant?
Mr. Buff interrupted their argument.
"The car is ready, sir."
Cal nodded. "Very well then. Mr. Buff,
please wait here outside of Rose's suite while Ruth attends to her. When she is
dressed, please escort them to the car. I'll be waiting." Cal quickly left
the suite a moment later.
Ruth wondered what Jack was planning to do.
It was clear that Cal had lost his mind. He would do anything for the sake of
the Hockley name, even ruin their lives if he had to. Ruth hated to admit it,
but Jack was their only chance for getting away from the Hockleys.