CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

As much as hindsight was 20/20, Max sometimes wished his brain gave him a warning before doing whatever it liked, not after. Laughing out loud at that moment was a good example.

He couldn't really take the blame for that, though. When Rose mentioned that it was her father she wanted to see, he'd assumed they'd be rescuing an ill, frail man. The man holding the door wasn't it. It wasn't like he'd seen the elderly man in reality before, but the images and static videos he'd seen of him hadn't done him justice.

He had this air of mystery around him, and his hair and beard were infused with a much more exquisite shade of white. He couldn't really say for the rest of him, though, because at the moment, the man's face was trained on him with a glare. He swallowed and looked to Rose for help but she was also glaring.

He raised both hands with a smile he hoped was relieving instead of worried. 

"Okay guys. I'm sorry. I'll just," he motioned back outside and started turning but Rose grabbed him by the arm.

"Could you stay here, please?" she pointed to the door.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously. He'd assumed they were going to boot him out, not give him a window to hear what was being said. 

Before she answered, she turned back to her father. Staring point-blank at him, she said, "So you'll let us know when Laurent is coming."

The man sighed, muttered something and eventually went back inside, not shutting the door in his daughter's face but really close to it. She gave him a small smile, and he raised his thumb in a thumbs up.

ROSE'S POV

Rose had quite expected to find her father in a state of shock, or at least fear but it wasn't so. She swallowed against the tears stuck in her throat as she followed him inside. He went straight to the window, and she followed him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. 

"Why are you here?" he asked her when moments had passed and she swallowed. Now, he sounded tired and exhausted.

"Happy birthday." she said instead and he just sighed and muttered, "Not exactly a happy day." She swallowed her next words.

He turned his gaze away from the outside and to her face, searching her face for something. "What do you want, Rose? The restraining order is there for a reason, and you're technically committing a crime right now."

She glared back, "What's happening today? You don't usually celebrate your birthdays in this fashion, so this must be Laurent's plan. So, what the hell is happening today?"

"Language, young lady."

She scoffed at his raised tone, knowing she was going to regret her next words but anger made them come out anyway. " You lost the right to correct my language when you sold my birthright and placed a restraining order on your only child." she shouted the last part.

That was the part that hurt most. Her father had it so that she couldn't visit him in the hospital. She'd been worried about him, and yet, nothing. Not even an 'I'm fine, Rose.', nothing. Who did that?

She made herself calm down. "At least tell me what's going on today. I know you're going to announce Laurent as your heir, but there's still time to turn everything back. He legally can't rule unless you are dead.

She covered her mouth as her eyes widened in horror, "Dad?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to off myself, Rose."

The relief was slower to come this time. She opened her mouth to say something, but the door suddenly opened, and Max rushed in.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I may have done something."

She sighed, "What is it?" even as her father said, "Who is this?"

He scratched the back of his head, "Forget about what I did; just know that Laurent is on his way up."

She stared at him in shock for close to a minute.

"You, asshole," she finally choked out, "How dare you?"

He took a step back and she realized she had taken a step forward in threat. She huffed out a breath and turned back to her father. "This conversation is far from over."

"I'll recommend you finish it now, then." Laurent's voice came from the door and she made herself not turn to him. He walked up to her. "My Rose, that was a nice parlor trick. But you know what they say about the boy who cried wolf."

She jerked her chin away and the hand he was lifting higher went back down. 

He sighed as he turned to her father. "Time to go, Blackwell. The guests are waiting."

She saw her father swallow, but he nodded. She turned back to the other spectators. Max's jaws were on the floor as he watched them, and Laurent was making no secret of the fact that he was checking her out. She huffed, and his eyes came back to her face.

"You look good," he said and she raised up her purse as if it were a weapon. He laughed and shook his head. When their eyes met again, his was serious.

"Say goodbye to Daddy, Rose."

She glared at him and said, "You won't have him under you for long."

"I'm afraid I will," he said with a sigh. "I mean it; say good-bye."

She stared at him in confusion. In the past two weeks, she had seen so many shades of Laurent that she was in danger of getting whiplash, but this wasn't one of them. His eyes looked serious and sober, as if he were warning her about something. 

She turned to her father, who was looking down or away, anywhere but in her direction. She took his hand. "Dad, what's the problem? You're not going anywhere, right?"

He shook his head and Laurent sighed from close behind her. She turned to him angrily, tears dripping down her cheeks. "Please, Laurent. Tell me what's going on."

"I'm sorry," he whispered and a scream escaped her despite her clenched teeth. As if that were a signal they were waiting for, the door slammed open again, and men and women rushed in eagerly, cameras flashing and questions pouring out of their lips. She hid her face and wiped her tears.