“I want to go home.”
Those weren’t words anyone expected from Rose—especially not a child who preferred playing with her friends over eating.
It only meant one thing: her mood had hit rock bottom.
Unable to hold back the rising wave of emotion, Rose wanted nothing more than to flee from the room.
“You want to go home?”
Edmund’s fingers froze over the piano keys. He turned to look at Rose with a confused expression, clearly baffled by her sudden declaration.
“Why, all of a sudden?”
But Rose avoided both Edmund and Sophie’s gaze.
She’d stepped forward to distract Edmund, only to fail miserably. Now embarrassed by her own sulky reaction, she found herself blurting out a weak excuse.
“A-afternoon. Noel’s coming over today… to play puzzles with my brothers. So I really have to go.”
Making up an excuse on the spot, Rose didn’t even give Edmund a chance to respond before bolting out of the red-brick house.
She hadn’t been kicked out. But for the first time in her life, she’d run out of a friend’s house on her own.
Her heart pounded wildly. She walked a bit, breath catching in her throat, and then turned back to look at the front of the house.
It was quiet.
No sign of Edmund coming after her.
I was hoping he’d stop me.
Even though she’d stormed off without looking back, her heart had never really left Edmund.
But he didn’t seem to care that she’d just walked away.
Well… he has Sophie, after all.
Letting out a deep sigh, she turned around again. Thinking of Sophie, who had been standing by Edmund’s side, made her feel even more pathetic.
Rose had always been the kind of child who approached people first, eager to befriend everyone. But with Sophie… that desire just wasn’t there.
“When I grow up, I’ll never marry someone ugly and dirty like you! I’m going to marry pretty Sophie instead, because she’s nothing like you!”
Maybe it was because from their very first meeting, she’d been compared to Sophie. Every time Rose looked at her, it felt like facing someone she could never beat. And it drained her spirit.
Her weary steps took her toward the beechwood house. A shadow clouded Rose’s eyes as she walked.
The hope she had once cherished—that Edmund might someday look at her kindly—had withered in the shade, never once touched by sunlight.
__________𓍯𓂃𓏧♡𓇢𓆸_________
The next morning, Rose left the house late, just as the sun reached its peak in the sky.
The three brothers had already gone out. Last night, they’d finally gotten their father’s permission to go outside, and they had rushed out at the crack of dawn to play.
On the porch, Nanny Betsy dozed off in a rocking chair, needlework still in hand.
It was the first peaceful morning in a while. Rose tiptoed carefully over the creaking floorboards so she wouldn’t wake her.
Today, she was planning to go fishing at the Sadie River.
“I’m going to catch a trout as big as Daddy’s arm!”
Brimming with ambition, Rose grabbed her fishing gear from the shed and headed into the birch woods.
But as she walked along, humming to herself, she suddenly came to a stop.
A recent memory surfaced—going fishing at the Sadie River with Edmund, only to return with nothing but dragonflies. He’d even promised to teach her how to fish properly.
Rose had wanted to share the fun of fishing with Edmund. His delighted expression as they caught dragonflies was still fresh in her mind.
He would definitely enjoy fishing too.
Despite the embarrassment still tugging at her heels after storming out of his house yesterday, she turned around and headed back to the red-brick house, putting the fishing rod aside for now.
Pride didn’t matter—not if it meant she could see Edmund’s happy face and play with him again.
But when she arrived at the garden, Rose witnessed a strange sight.
Fat Luca and a group of boys were pressed against the fence like cicadas, peeking into the yard.
What are they doing?
Curious, Rose changed direction and walked toward them instead of heading to the front door.
“What are you guys doing here?”
The boys didn’t even glance at her. Their attention remained fixed on the garden.
Inside, Edmund was sitting on the lawn playing with blocks.
Sophie was with him.
What they were spying on wasn’t Edmund—but Sophie.
They had all fallen for her the day they were invited over and laid eyes on her for the first time.
“What was that girl’s name again?”
“Wasn’t it Sophie?”
“She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“Prettier than Melinda, even.”
“Hey! Don’t you dare compare her to Melinda!”
Edmund, seemingly unaware of the prying eyes behind the fence, continued playing blocks with Sophie.
Rose bit her lip as she watched them.
This isn’t the right day for this.
Asking Edmund to go fishing now—when he was clearly enjoying time with Sophie—would only lead to rejection.
Her shoulders slumped.
And then came the voices—just loud enough for her to hear.
“Poor Edmund. He has to marry that ugly little brat when there’s a beautiful maid like her right next to him.”
“If my parents told me to marry a snot-nosed brat, I’d run away from home.”
Because of earlier warnings, they didn’t dare mess with Rose physically anymore.
So now, they attacked her heart.
Rose wanted to fight back, just like she always did, by saying she’d grow up to be as pretty as her mother.
But then—
“What the—are they kissing?!” Luca shouted.
Every head whipped toward the fence.
Rose’s eyes widened.
Edmund had pulled Sophie’s arm mid-play and kissed her on the cheek.
Then, as if to make sure everyone saw, he turned and looked straight toward the group of spying boys—and directly at Rose.
He must have known they were watching.
But he hadn’t expected her to be among them.
Their eyes met.
Edmund’s expression stiffened.
Rose felt her heart drop with a thud.
She jumped up and ran.
She didn’t know why.
It just felt like she’d seen something she shouldn’t have.
Her heart was pounding out of control.
Out of breath, she ran into an empty storage shed and collapsed into a pile of hay. She gasped for air, heart pounding so violently it made her head spin.
Clenching her fists, she blinked hard, trying to calm down.
Edmund—who had always made a face when she touched him like she was dirty—had kissed Sophie without hesitation.
She knew he liked Sophie, but actually seeing it with her own eyes shook her to the core.
Maybe… maybe she had been ignoring that truth on purpose.
Choosing to believe only in the fact that he was her fiancé.
But Edmund probably didn’t even think of her as his fiancée.
“Poor Edmund. He has to marry that ugly little brat when there’s a beautiful maid like her right next to him.”
He must feel the same way.
Her thoughts sank like stones in a deep, murky swamp.
Rose liked Edmund.
Sure, she liked everyone—but the way she felt about him was different.
He wasn’t just another friend. He was the friend she would be with for the rest of her life.
He was the groom who would make her the honeybee bride.
From the very first moment they met, Edmund had meant something special to her.
But that feeling… it was all one-sided.
Edmund didn’t like her.
He liked Sophie.
Because she was beautiful.
It was a reason so sharp and simple that it pierced her heart like an arrow.
Rose reached up and touched her face, then ran her fingers through her wild, tangled hair. The rough strands scraped against her skin.
How she envied Sophie.
Her matching blue eyes with Edmund, her white skin like a lily, her nightingale voice, and that soft, flowing black hair…
But Rose could never be Sophie.
And because of that—Edmund would never like her.
I guess I’ll have to go fishing alone after all.
With that resigned thought, she stood and made her way out of the shed. But as she stepped forward, her foot hit something, sending it rolling across the floor.
Clatter—clatter—clatter.
Looking down, she saw a black paint can spinning to a stop.
Why is this here?
She picked it up and set it on a shelf. Some of the paint inside had dripped onto her hand.
She wiped her palm on her clothes, then paused and stared at her hand.
“Black…?”
__________𓍯𓂃𓏧♡𓇢𓆸_________
Once all four children had gone out to play, Aileen finally began the deep cleaning she’d been putting off for days.
She and the servants spent the entire morning sweeping and scrubbing the wooden floors, and by the time she stepped out onto the porch for some fresh air, she was drenched in sweat.
Her face was pale from a week spent nursing sick children. Dark shadows framed her sunken eyes, and her shoulders were stiff with fatigue.
But she was grateful. The children had recovered quickly and left the house to play.
For once, the house was peaceful. No one running around making a mess, no sudden shrieks to make her scream in frustration.
Breathing easier, Aileen closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
But before she could even exhale, a voice shattered the quiet.
“Mamaaa!”
Alarmed, Aileen’s eyes flew open. She turned and froze.
There was Rose—running toward her, completely covered in thick black liquid.
“Oh my goodness, Rose!”
Grabbing her skirt, Aileen rushed down the steps of the porch.
“Mama, my hair is black now!”
“Rose! What in the world did you put on your head?!”
The chemical smell hit her nose instantly. Horrified, she grabbed the girl’s arms.
Rose lifted her dripping hand and cheerfully announced, “Black paint!”
A sigh escaped Aileen’s lips. Her vision darkened—just like the paint covering her daughter.
Of course. In a house with four troublemakers, peace was simply not an option.
Realizing this once again, Aileen clutched her aching head and screamed.
