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CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: REMAKE OR RECALL? ROSE AMARA'S POV Years ago, when Ethan left and disappeared without a trace, I believed that my life would eventually return to normal. However, as the months and years passed, I was unable to go back in time and remove him. There was no escape, and I had already turned onto a one-way street. As soon as we get home, Ethan wraps his hand around my back and digs his fingers into my flesh to make sure I'm there. Every move I make is a battle to keep from being caught in his touch or the way he occasionally brushes my skin like a husband or lover. I'll never fully get over the transformation he brought into my life. I have to accept that in order to continue living my life. Even though I wasn't able to make him vanish, I can and will move past him. As soon as we get there, Uncle River calls us into the dining room. Ethan drags me inside while complaining. "You ought to be sleeping, not complaining about your life." He is being a husband material even though I don't need him. He stops at the doorway, his face expressionless. "My boss is not you, Princess." It's strange how he used to say things like that in the past, but I hardly ever paid attention to them, to the truth and his true nature below them. I was in too deep to recognize the subliminal truth he delivered. I pretended to be unconcerned. "I thought you were faithful to the brotherhood." 'Nah. I just have loyalty to you." Liar... He and I separated as I entered the dining room. Belle is seated next to Uncle Raven and my father at the head of the table. My great cousin looks as though she cried all night long because her eyes are red and puffy. She stands up and sprints at me when he sees me. She abruptly stops and stands in front of me, which is far preferable to her hugging me. If she had, I wouldn't have been able to perform the part. "Belle? Wow. You are an adult now." She flinches. "So it's accurate. Really, you can't remember? " I must make her believe that I have forgotten about the previous ten years of her life, so I say. "I'm sorry." and I really mean it. Bella shakes her head. "You don't need to be sorry. I recognize and I'm sorry I'm not on your side." Ethan joined me and stood by my side like a soldier as we talked. I see how he is keeping an eye on everything I do. She probably doesn't suspect me. I still get the unsettling impression that I'm being examined under a microscope from the way he looks at me with knitted brows and sparkle in his crystal blue eyes. After we have dinner as a family, Anastasia and I continue our conversation. Hades or one of the others would typically join us, but it appears Uncle has given us the go-ahead, so it's just the four of us. Uncle is doing it on purpose and has something planned. Although he coughs, it doesn't develop into a fit. He sips some water, clears his throat, and then talks in an accented form of English. "That you have forgotten your memories, Rose, is terrible." I pause and take a drink of the soup. "Yes. But if it goes on like this, it won't end well." Ethan takes a piece of lobster and sets it on my plate like a devoted spouse, saying, "I agree." He excels at taking on the role of the protector and supporting everyone. If he had been icy and treated me as he had on the phone, it would have been so much simpler, as though I were nothing. like he'd abandon me. Because this act has confused me since the hospital, despite my best efforts to ignore it. "What do you mean, Papa, it can't go on?" Belle asks in a whisper. "The shareholders will actively strive to remove Rose from her position if they learn that she suffers memory loss. We'll keep her memory loss a private matter. I say, "Pharaoah and Thorn found out." Ethan's voice is calm, yet it is deceptive and deadly. "Hades, too. They will keep this a secret, they told me after speaking with them." "Pharaoah and Thorn?" I laughed. "Although they may not be concerned, but I know Thorn wouldn't accept this simply because you ordered him to." Father sips his water, clearing his throat and taking long breaths, "He's knowledgeable enough to recognize changing administration would be bad for the brotherhood, especially during times like these." "I am aware that controlling the cough is exhausting him physically. If it had been anyone else, they would have given up and gone to a quiet private clinic to spend their days." Like myself, I am aware that sacrifices must be made. Nothing great is achieved easily because if it were possible for anyone to be great, Mom once told me. "Rose..." 'Yes?" "Fortunately, there aren't many personality differences, but ten years ago, you didn't have your degree and relied on Hades, so you'll behave as usual." "Eya and Zeth will help." "I need someone nearby to look after you. " "Ethan," he continues, grabbing a fork and pointing it towards the man seated next to me. "No." This isn't how the strategy was supposed to work. Ethan cannot accompany me at all times. That will undoubtedly reveal my intention. Said jackass puts his hand on top of mine and gives it a light squeeze. "Sure, that. Anything to help her." I tried to argue with my father, saying, "I can figure it out on my own." "Zeth and Eya can protect me as well, Hades." "I don't take any chances. There are a lot of things on the line right now, and the brotherhood won't have any backup plans if earnings are threatened." I genuinely do understand father's perspective, but I don't like where this is going. I've spent so much time developing the administration, and now Ethan will sully one of the legacies I've worked so hard to secure. Even in business-related concerns, I don't enjoy that I have to keep up with Ethan. I built that business. Why does he get to rub my nose in it when it was me? "Ethan and I will assist you with the business so you don't stumble in front of the staff," Belle said. I want to tell them that there's no way I, slip, but I can't, since that would shatter the cover I've spent too long crafting. "Anything to aid her help." she beams. Then we retired to our room following dinner. I remain near the entrance, arms crossed, as I concentrated on the situation and my options. Having already entered, Ethan takes off his jacket and nonchalantly places it on the same chair that he raped me on while I yelled his name the other night. I close my eyes in an effort to block out the barrage of recollections. That is the absolute last thing I need right now. "Observe, Rose." I used my most harsh voice as I spoke to him. "I need my own room." I said it again and it seemed she didn't hear him, "I said I want separate rooms," unsure if he heard me the first time because he didn't even lift his head. This time, he unbuttons his shirt while gazing at me, his fingers moving leisurely across the buttons, almost as if he were in a strip show. "Also, keep that in mind. Sadly, Princess, we don't always get our way." "You're crazy if you think I'll share a room with you." He marches toward me, his shirt half-unbuttoned to display the snake tattoo rippling against his pectoral muscle. "What's so weird about a married couple sharing a room?" he asks. "Have you overlooked the fact that we are wed?" "I can't share a bed with a stranger because I don't recall that, thus you are just a stranger." He stops in front of me, squeezing me in some way between his frame and the door. Ethan pauses at his fourth button, teasing but not quite revealing his gorgeous chest. I'm now fixated on his chest. God. I lift my head, but I'm completely incorrect if I believed it would be simpler to look at his face. It's difficult to keep an eye contact with Ethan while swimming against a strong current. I keep going even though I'll definitely drown or hit my head on a rock. "Maybe I should do recall our memory, Princess." 'What?" He takes hold of my arm and turns me around. He slowly pushes me backward, and I gasp as I fall on the bed. Although the mattress is soft where my rear is, the impact makes me feel as though the earlier current is hurling me down a scary waterfall. I want to escape this.