More than a friend

Ch 11: Wishes

CPOV

I never expected in a thousand years that my life would be this way. That I would be a magic instructor, living with a woman who isn't my wife, and a child who wasn't my own. I always had a difficult time trying to navigate my life, my future, but I truly didn't see this in any of my plans. In all of my wildest expectations and dreams I never saw this happening yet I wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. As crazy as my life is now, it's the happiest I've ever been in my life. If someone told me that I would living in New Jersey with Rose Hathaway and her daughter I would have rolled my eyes and gave them the rudest, most sarcastic insult I had, but now I really couldn't think of a better reality. Rose and Sophie were my everything. What more could I have asked for?

I span my office chair around and looked at the picture frame on my desk. It was a photo of the three of us on Christmas morning. Sofia was four years old at the time and she had the brightest smile as she sat amongst the many gifts that were all for her. Rose and I weren't religious in any sense but we decided to celebrate the holiday purely for that moment of joy on our little princess's face.

I looked left to the woman in the photo. She had a pair of reindeer ears and a twinkle in her smiling eyes as she looked at the little girl who was her entire world. There was undeniable beauty in the way she smiled at her daughter but when I looked at her now, pacing back and fourth in the small office, there was only anxiety radiating of her.

"Could you just sit down. Your pacing isn't helping anything" I said.
"I can't. Not when I know they're watching us" she says as she rakes her fingers through her hair several times.
"They didn't say that. All he said was that he will check up on us occasionally to make sure we don't leave. Which we won't do."
"I know they're out there monitoring us. God know's how long were spying on us. They obviously know about Sofia. If they knew where we lived and our times, of course they know about her. We need to figure out what we are going to do."
"About Sophie?" I asked.
She nods, finally sitting down,"We need to find a way to keep Sofia out of this. I cannot risk her coming with us and it ending up being some kind of trap to arrest us. I don't trust them. I don't trust her."
"We can't leave Sophie behind. Who will look after her? What will she think if we both leave and never return?" I asked the frazzled Rose.
"One of us has too. My daughter isn't growing up in an academy as an orphan" she said through clenched teeth.
"Rose, Sophie has to come with us. No, no," I raise my hand to stop as she begins to protest, "you said it yourself, they've been watching us which means her majesty must know that we, I mean you have a daughter." I pretend to flatten my already neat shirt to avoid eye contact with Rose because of my slip up. Why would you say that? I scolded in my head.
Rose looks far from ease but I could see her surrender. I couldn't blame her reaction. She has spent a good deal of time trying to keep Sophie away from our past. As much as she knew what we are, she never really knew who we were. That once upon a time her mother was to be a high ranking guardian to the Dragomir princess and I...well I was technically a lord but my past always made that fact seem like a joke. Either way Sophie knew nothing of this and Rose and I intended to keep it that way. Until now.
"She'll understand. She's smarter than she looks" I say gently.
"I know. I just hoped she'd have more time away from all of this. I wish I could have kept her away from that God forsaken place as long as possible."
"Oh Rose of course it was God forsaken. After all , you were from there" I say with a slight smirk.
"Yes and I'm sure it's not because it's ruled by blood sucking lunatics like you," she replied deadpanned.
I flip her off and she threw one of the books on the desk at me. I quickly dodge it, laughing in the process.
She joined in and I knew she would be fine. As long as she laughed or even threw something at me I knew she be okay. I'd take that anyday than seeing her like this. She stood up, flicked the photo frame so it fell as an extra insult before walking away with the smallest smile on her face.

I set the frame back up and looked at the photo. I looked at the young mother who had her head resting on the shoulder of a man with dark hair and blue eyes. I remember feeling nervous because it was the first Christmas with Rose's mother present but she called me to sit next to her. Once I did she quickly pulled me close to her and placed her head on me, smiling lovingly at Sophie as she opened her gifts. I remembered feeling kinda complete but I never told anyone about it before.
But deep down I think, if I could ask for one more thing, would I even have guts to say it out loud?