Chapter 174

Beautiful arrangements of flowers stretched across every section in varying colors and species, while fruits and vegetables grew neatly among them. The entire place felt alive.

They wandered through the different sections at an easy pace, and Rosalind found herself unable to stop looking around.

“This one’s almost ripe,” she said as she gently tapped a small tomato growing on a vine.

She continued walking, glancing from side to side and taking everything in. To call it beautiful felt like an understatement. Meanwhile, Rowan watched her more than the greenhouse itself, and seeing the wonder in her eyes made him quietly glad he had brought her here.

At some point, several butterflies began hovering around her.

Rosalind turned toward him just as one landed delicately on her nose.

“Look,” she said, narrowing her eyes slightly as she tried to focus on the yellow butterfly with brown patterns decorating its wings.

Rowan looked at her and immediately thought she was the most adorable thing he’d seen all day.

“It must think you’re one giant flower,” he said teasingly.

Rosalind laughed softly, and a moment later the butterfly fluttered away.

They continued exploring until they eventually reached the center of the greenhouse, where a table and chairs had been prepared. Taking their seats, they were served tea along with a selection of pastries. Rosalind ate slowly while looking around and appreciating the atmosphere.

The entire place felt peaceful, and Rowan allowed her to enjoy it without interrupting the moment.

Rosalind found herself smiling before she could stop it, the ease between them settling in a way that felt almost too natural to question, though she quietly chose not to think too deeply about it in that moment as the warmth of the greenhouse still lingered in her thoughts.

When she finally finished, she looked toward him. “So there are other beautiful places like this in Eryndor?” she asked.

“Definitely.”

Her eyes widened immediately.

“Do you think you can take me to see them?” she asked, and there was something almost hopeful in her expression.

“I will.”

The answer came so quickly that she couldn’t help smiling.

After a while, when the warmth of the greenhouse had settled into something quiet and comforting, Rowan suggested they go somewhere else before the day slipped away entirely.

Rosalind agreed. “Let’s do it.”

A smile appeared on Rowan’s face, and he stood before holding out his hand toward her. She hesitated for only a moment before placing her hand in his, and together they began walking toward the exit.

As they stepped outside, one of the servants who had attended to them earlier approached carrying a small basket. “These are the ripened fruits… for you,” she said respectfully.

Rosalind looked inside and immediately smiled. “Thank you.”

The servant bowed again before glancing toward Rowan. After receiving a small nod from him, she excused herself and returned inside.

“They’re so fresh,” Rosalind said while looking through the basket.

At that moment, the horse was brought back.

“Ready?” Rowan asked.

She glanced at him before nodding.

Once again, he helped her mount before climbing up behind her. A moment later they were riding away while the workers and guards at the greenhouse bowed as they departed.

The second journey lasted much longer than the first, and eventually Rosalind found herself wondering where exactly they were going. The scenery changed steadily around them while the afternoon slowly gave way to evening. It wasn’t until the sun had begun its descent that they finally arrived.

The first thing she heard was the crashing of waves.

Then she saw the cliff.

Fresh ocean air rushed toward them, carrying the scent of salt and water. Rowan took her hand and guided her forward while Rosalind followed his lead carefully until they finally reached the highest point.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

The wind swept through her hair and clothes, wrapping around her as though trying to carry away every burden she had brought with her. Closing her eyes, Rosalind inhaled deeply and listened to the sounds around her.

The crashing waves.

The wind.

The distant cries of seabirds.

When they eventually sat beside each other overlooking the sea, the sun was already beginning to disappear below the horizon.

“It’s beautiful,” Rosalind murmured.

“It is.”

Yet Rowan wasn’t looking at the sunset.

He was looking at her.

When Rosalind turned toward him, she noticed his hand moving toward her hair. Her breath caught slightly as he tucked a loose strand behind her ear before pulling something free.

A flower.

He held it up between his fingers.

Rosalind blinked and then tried very hard not to laugh.

“Since when do you do this?” she asked.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “It just came to me.”

A smile spread across her face. “I’ll show you a few other tricks later too,” he added.

Rosalind chuckled and shook her head before her attention drifted toward the basket she had been carrying.

Her eyes widened.

She had almost forgotten about it.

Opening it, she pulled out one of the fresh fruits. “Here?” she offered.

Rowan shook his head. “Just enjoy them.”

Rosalind nodded before biting into an apple. A soft crunch sounded between them as she ate while enjoying the breathtaking view before her.

Meanwhile, Rowan wasn’t looking at the sunset anymore.

He was enjoying her company.

God knew how long he had waited for moments like this. Sometimes it still felt unreal that she was sitting beside him. He had spent so much of the past year imagining conversations with her, imagining seeing her again, and now she was actually here.

His gaze rested briefly on the half-eaten apple in her hand, and after a short pause that carried a kind of quiet consideration rather than hesitation, he reached out and gently held her wrist.

Rosalind looked at him in confusion.

Then Rowan leaned forward and took a bite from the exact place where she had already eaten.

She stared.

A few moments ago, he had said he didn’t want any.

Now he was calmly chewing while looking right back at her.

And somehow, Rosalind knew perfectly well that it had never been the apple he wanted in the first place.

Then she looked away with a faint smile forming at the corner of her lips, because somehow, the gesture felt too casual and too intimate at the same time for her to fully process it immediately.

Yet even as they sat there overlooking the cliff, she didn’t pull away from the moment, and instead allowed herself to simply exist in it, watching the sun descend while the wind moved around them in slow, steady waves that made everything feel suspended between silence and something unspoken.