▪The King's Rose▪

Chapter 23

Claudia's POV

I turned to the source of the sound, only to be confused and astonished.

Confused because of the person standing in front of me. What is he doing here?

And astonished because he witnessed my broken state. Which not even my parents did.

But somehow I feel grateful that it's him and not some stranger.

Weird, I know.

He was as shocked as me, but soon he masked it and hurriedly strolled towards where I was sitting and wiped my tears with his handkerchief.

"Shh.... It's okay", he cooed. But the traitorous tears continuously rolled down my cheeks.

He gently gathered me in his arms to console me with his familiar comfort.

If not for the sorrow feeling, I would have been stunned by his gesture.

After a while, I calmed down. All the crying made my eyes too heavy to open, so I rested my head on his chest for a few more time. This whole time he accompanied me without complaining.

"What are you doing here, Finn?", I asked him lowly, because of the lack of strength.

"I came here to wish my friend a very happy birthday-", he said glancing at Aaron's headstone, "-but I never knew I would get to meet his little Rose", he smiled glancing down at me.

"Huh?", I pulled away from him frowning.

"What do you mean?", I interrogated him. "And how do you know him". I raised my eyebrow at him.

Something felt odd. Something in me tells me that this is gonna be a long day.

I pushed the strange thoughts at the back of my mind.

He sighed.

"Do you know where we first met?" He was sitting down with folded legs. But it was impossible because of his long legs.

He patiently waited for me to answer.

"At my house?", I said but it sounded more like a question.

He nodded positively.  

"Yeah, that's where I saw you. You looked familiar to me, but I couldn't just pinpoint. But when Eva introduced us, that's when it clicked me. Williams. You were a Williams", he chuckled.

I couldn't understand where this is going. What exactly is he trying to say?

I motioned him to continue.

"Every time I see you, there was this strange emotion in me to protect you. Honestly speaking, it's not me it's-" he pointed at his heart, "-him. This guy here worries the most for you."

"Can you explain it clearly and not talk in riddles, please", I pleaded.

Second by second, I was getting impatient.

"Four years."

That caught my interest. I looked up at him trying to hear what exactly is going on in his mind. But that's impossible.

He was staring into spaces as if recalling those years.

"Four years ago, I was met with an accident. It was a crash. Motorbike crash. It was all of a sudden. I didn't even get time to think. I didn't realise what's happening, but when I did, it was late. Too late to rectify the disaster. It happened because of the truck driver, who was drowsy. You know, driving drowsy is as dangerous as driving drunk", He scoffed.