Chapter 55: Fury and Forgiveness
"What is it?" Rose asks, turning to Emma.
Emma's heart sinks when she sees the earnest and very happy smile on the redhead's face. Their happy bliss was about to come to an end.
"W-well, the other day…I was approached by a man who said he was working for…Caledon Hockley. And he is looking for you, Rose,"
Rose's jaw drops when Emma tells her this.
Tears are filling Rose's eyes and the smile she had drops to nothing. Just when she thought she was finally free of Cal and first-class life, he comes back to haunt them. She was carrying Jack's child and they were engaged, everything was so perfect until this moment.
"W-what do you mean?" Rose says.
"He was a private investigator and he told me he'd been hired by Cal and your mother to find you."
Rose leans into Jack for protection, the artist also quite disturbed by this news.
"What did you say? Y-You didn't tell him…?" Rose whimpers.
"No," Emma says. "I didn't tell him where you were, but I had to say that I knew you and who you were with…"
"WHY?!" Rose screams so loudly, some birds across the street take flight. "Y-you couldn't just deny it?! Let me live a life with the man I love, instead of selling me out to…!"
"It didn't turn out that way I swear…" Emma tries to say.
"After all Cal did to us and you end up selling your soul to him!"
"But Rose," Emma says.
Rose doesn't want to hear any more. She gets up from the porch and goes inside, making sure the door slams extra hard as she goes. When that noise is heard, Sybil's confused and frightened cries erupt from the nursery. Emma herself is now crying, knowing deep down that this would happen. Jack, however, knows that this isn't the end of the story. He always wants to hear both sides before he makes a decision. Emma is weeping hard. Peter goes to tend to Sybil and leaves the two alone.
"What happened Emma?" Jack says in a calm voice.
"She didn't let me finish. I couldn't lie to a man of the law, but I used one of my dad's lawyer techniques. I told the man that I was not at liberty to say especially since it put all our lives at risk. I told him what Cal did to us…" Emma wipes the tears from her eyes. "How he wanted to kill us and what he'd done to Sybil. I told him that our lives were in danger, especially the unborn one. He did guilt trip me, though, talking about how Rose's mother is sick with worry. She's losing sleep and starving herself over Rose. He made me think of the time when Cal took Sybil. I found a loophole in his verbal contract with Hockley, the man only had to find Rose, but he never had to bring her home to them. If he simply tells Cal and Rose's mother that she's okay…"
"He'll never give up his search," Jack interrupts. "You saw what he did to keep Rose and me apart…"
"I know," Emma says. "That's why I was drawing up restraining orders against him, this was he can't get near us…not if he wants to keep his reputation intact or he wants to face me in court."
"And he's already been to jail once, he wouldn't risk it again," Jack says.
"What?" Emma gasps. She can't help but feel slightly satisfied that Cal spent some time in jail. "What did he do? Was it for what he did on the ship?"
"No… I doubt he'll ever be charged for that… He got busted when he assaulted Wendy, Rose's lady's maid and some guy who came to help her," Jack explains.
"Obviously he's out now if he hired a private investigator," Emma deduces.
Jack sighs. "Knew he wouldn't. Guys like him always get off easy, while guys like me are handcuffed to pipes in sinking ships."
Emma nods, Peter comes back out onto the porch with a miserable Sybil.
"I can't believe that happened to you," Peter says. "It's so inhumane."
"Yeah, Cal's manservant left me in the brig to die, if it wasn't for Rose, I wouldn't be here." Chills run up Jack's spine, the sight of water leaking into the cabin, with no chance of escaping. His only relief was the sight of Rose coming to help him, kissing him and coming with an axe to cut him free. Despite the fact that he almost died that night from the freezing water, he was with Rose and she managed to save him again; allowing both of them to live, get engaged, get jobs, travel, prepare for a baby and live a life of freedom and love.
Emma leans forward and hugs Jack tightly. Everything seemed so wrong, that Cal would try anything to ruin their lives including trying to kill them and keeping everyone apart.
Jack gets up.
"I'll go talk to Rose, she's just upset…"
"I know she just wants that happy ending," Emma says. Peter hands Sybil to Emma to be comforted. Emma looks at Sybil and then to Jack. Her mind goes back to Rose's mother, the idea of having a missing child, what that can do to a person…especially a mother. "Please talk to her about at least contacting her mother. There's no need for me to take a restraining order out on her,"
"You're right, the worst she could do is forbid Rose from marrying me, but that ship has kind of sailed," Jack agrees.
Jack opens the front door and heads inside as Peter puts his arm around a still sobbing Emma. Jack goes up the stairs and knocks on the door of the room they've been staying in.
"Go away Emma!" is the response.
"It's Jack,"
"The door's open."
Jack walks in to find Rose grabbing things from the dresser and shoving them into a suitcase on the bed. Her face is stained with tears and distorted with anger and sadness. It was not a pretty look on her, it made Jack sad.
"Are you going somewhere?" Jack asks.
"No, we are," Rose answers, not stopping at all to talk to her fiancé, shoving more clothes into the bag.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, since Emma sold us to the devil, we're going to have to leave now."
Jack sits down on the bed. "Rose…"
"Don't try to defend her!" the red-head practically yells. "I-I can't believe she would do this, after what Cal did to Peter and Sybil, you'd expect her to see reason."
"She did see reason Rose, but you try lying to a policeman, it's not a good idea."
Rose packs her lavender dress into the case and then her leather wallet full of money.
"Regardless," Rose says, tears still running down her face. She can't go back to that life. She won't! She's happy now, with the man she loves and a baby on the way. If Cal and her mother found out about the baby… the thought makes her sick.
Rose sits next to Jack, her hands soaking up her tears. Jack puts his arms around her and holds her close.
"Shh, it's okay Rose,"
"I-I…I can't lose you, Jack…not again…not to him…" she weeps.
"I know…" he whispers. "You're free now and as long as you're with me, I won't let anything happen to you. I promise…"
"B-But what about Cal?"
"What about him? He doesn't know where we are and he never will."
Rose leans out of Jack's arms and raises her eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" she asks. "Didn't Emma…"
"No, she didn't. If you had heard her out you would've learned that she used her lawyer strategies to get us out of this mess."
"How? What?"
"Emma knew how dangerous Cal was and she resisted telling the guy any information, especially if it put you and the baby at risk. She explained to him what Cal was capable of and found a loophole in his verbal contract that the man only had to find you, not bring you home."
Rose's stomach turns as she begins to feel guilty. She immediately jumped to conclusions and didn't hear her friend out. Give her a chance to explain herself, instead, she began yelling at the person who had given her and Jack a place to call home and the familial love that she had never received growing up.
"She was also drawing up restraining orders against Cal so he can never come near us or our baby again."
Fresh tears filled Rose's eyes, tears of guilt. "I'm a horrible person," Rose sighs.
"No, you're not," Jack says, pulling Rose close to him and brushing a few curls behind her ear. "You're a person who cares with her heart and soul. You want to make sure that everyone you love is safe. Unfortunately, that sometimes makes you impulsive and you act before you think."
Jack kisses the side of Rose's head.
"But don't worry, I love you all the same."
"Do you think Emma will forgive me?" Rose whispers.
"I know she will, she was almost on the brink of not telling us at all. She didn't want to ruin our engagement euphoria. She's just afraid that you'd react the way you did and not forgive her."
"Of course I will, now that I know that she's doing everything she can to protect us."
"Well, you can go tell her that, but before you do, I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?"
"Emma told me that the private investigator mentioned your mother's current mental state. She's losing a lot of sleep and practically starving herself over finding you."
"Serves her right," Rose says through gritted teeth. She gets up and begins pacing the room.
"Rose, come on that's unfair," Jack protests.
"Jack, you didn't spend seventeen years with her. She ruined my life, she humiliated me at every turn and put money over her own daughter!"
"So from that she deserves to suffer?" Jack asks. Jack never did like Ruth DeWitt Bukater in the first place, but from what Emma had told him, she was genuinely falling apart over her daughter's disappearance, which showed she did care for Rose, at least on some level. He remembered how upset Emma was when Sybil went missing, and although he wasn't a father yet, he'd probably feel the same way if their baby disappeared.
"She made me suffer!" Rose screeches angrily. "She never cared about me at all!"
"But what did she really do to us? What crime did she commit?"
"She tried to force me to marry a homicidal maniac!"
"Okay I'll give you that, but she really only forbade us from seeing each other and tried to humiliate me in front of the first-class guests. And we both know that didn't stop us, especially because you're too strong for her. She can't do anything about it now Rose" Jack stands up and holds Rose's hand up with the diamond ring on it. "The worst thing she can do is not come to the wedding, but think about it…a mother who didn't care wouldn't be sending people out in search for you. Plus, she's going to be the only grandparent to our baby."
Jack puts his arms around Rose, caressing the tiny bump that was growing in her centre. Rose swallows a lot of her anger. Jack is speaking the truth that it almost makes her angry. She still couldn't forgive her mother for the years of torment and yet...
"But what if she tells Cal?"
"You can give her an ultimatum, either she cuts Cal out completely or she'll never be a part of our and our baby's lives."
Jack kisses Rose's neck. "Think about how'd you feel if your baby was missing, run off into the unknown."
Rose swallows hard again, tears reappearing for the third time. She sighs.
"Let me sleep on it," Rose whispers.
"That's fine and no matter what happens, I'll be right beside you."
Rose turns to look into Jack's beautiful blue eyes. They still captivate her and make her feel so safe and warm.
"Forever and always?" Rose asks. Emma's family vow kind of becoming a habit of theirs in terms of professing their love.
Jack kisses her deeply.
"Forever and always," he smiles.
Rose kisses Jack once more before going to find Emma. The girl is out on the porch with her now sleeping baby sister on her shoulder.
"Emma?" Rose whispers.
Emma turns, her eyes bloodshot from crying.
"Rose… I'm so sorry," Emma says.
"No Emma, I'm sorry, I should've listened to what you had to say. I know you care about us too much to sell me out like that. I know you'd do anything to protect us."
Rose walks over and embraces Emma tightly, squashing Sybil in between.
"You know I would Rose, you're like my sister,"
Rose's eyes tear up once more, Emma too is tearing up. The two women smile at each other and keep their hug for a little while longer.
"I've always wanted a sister," Rose whispers earnestly.
"Me too," Emma smirks and the two women laugh before going inside to put the third sister to bed.
…
Over the next week, Rose thinks long and fiercely about the idea of contacting her mother. The woman had made her life such a living hell, slowly killing her from the inside, forcing her into a loveless and abusive marriage, focusing on money rather than her daughter's happiness. It made Rose so mad that she wanted her mother to feel the pain that she had felt for the past seventeen years. And yet… everything Jack said was true. Ruth only ever tried to do what she thought was the best for her daughter, and clearly, from her wasting away over Rose's disappearance, Ruth did care and love her daughter. Rose furiously debated over whether to get in contact with her mother, even after Emma told her that she and Peter had filed the restraining orders against Cal and the private investigator had not come back.
What finally changes her mind is seeing Emma playing with Sybil, the bond the two have, one of love and compassion. She desperately wishes that she had that with her mother growing up… She put her hand over her baby bump. She would learn from her mother's mistakes and never be like that, but… it was never too late to try and fix things, even just a little bit.
Rose gets out a pencil and some paper the following day.
Dear Mother…