Chapter 77: Having A Harem Is Cool, Who Knew?[4 Castle Bonus]
“I love you.”
The words left Rose’s lips, and Adrian wasn’t sure whether he appreciated hearing them or not.
His eyes stayed fixed on the shadowed corner of the room while his mind scrambled for what he was supposed to do next.
Act like he hadn’t heard her?
That was possible.
Maybe stupid.
No. Definitely stupid.
But how the hell was he supposed to reply to that when he had only met her last Friday?
“Mm… you’re really not gonna reply?” Rose mumbled.
Adrian felt her press a little tighter against him, her chest against his body. The small movement did nothing to help his already confused mind.
“I was,” he replied, doing his best to keep his tone level. “I definitely was.”
He definitely wasn’t.
Hell, he didn’t even know what to say.
All he had to do was say I love you too.
So why did those words suddenly feel so damn difficult?
“Did I…”
Rose pulled slightly away from him.
“Did I overstep?” Her voice became quieter. “I think I overstepped.”
Adrian opened his mouth, but she spoke immediately.
“Sorry. I, uh…”
She raised a hand, moving her head slightly as though she was searching for the right words.
“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I’ve never…”
“No, stop.” Adrian raised his palm. “Stop. You don’t need to explain. You didn’t overstep.”
Rose paused.
He watched her face, waiting.
“I didn’t?”
“It’s not that.”
She remained quiet for a moment, and Adrian could almost see her trying to decide whether she believed him.
“It’s just… you kinda made it sound like it was too much.”
“It’s not, really.” Adrian exhaled and rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m just trying to process everything that’s happened in the last few days.”
“Everything that happened?”
Rose tilted her head.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know…” Adrian looked away for a second. “A lot.”
He sat up, still very much conscious of the fact that he hadn’t exactly made himself decent yet. He didn’t bother crossing his legs.
“Trying to get over Maya. Moving in. Getting the system. Meeting you and finding…”
He stopped.
“System?”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
“You said you got a system.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“That’s not the first time you’ve mentioned something like that. What is it?”
Adrian stared at her.
Fuck.
This was definitely not what he wanted to be talking about at four in the morning.
His brain searched for a clever excuse.
Nothing.
Another one.
Nothing.
Rose simply kept staring at him, waiting.
“Spill it out,” she said. “What’s a system?”
Adrian took a slow breath and glanced away.
Then he sighed.
“When I said system, I meant… well…”
He looked back at her.
Her eyes were still fixed on him.
Mm.
Fuck it.
“There’s something I want to tell you. It’s a secret of mine that I’ve honestly been meaning to tell you.”
Rose’s expression shifted immediately.
“What’s that?”
“A few days ago, something happened to me.”
She leaned closer, and Adrian felt her legs brush softly against him. His brain immediately tried dragging his attention somewhere else.
He forced himself to stay focused.
“What happened?”
“I got an epiphany.”
Rose raised a brow.
“An epiphany?”
Adrian nodded.
“An epiphany on what?”
That was when it hit him.
A possibility. Something he’d seen before and could possibly utilize.
A faint smile touched his lips as he tried to keep his composure.
“I decided I’m going to grow.”
Rose blinked.
“What do you mean by grow? Grow what? A farm?”
Adrian didn’t respond.
His eyes wandered toward the drawer, his brain pausing for a moment as he figured out exactly how much he wanted to tell her.
“I want to grow myself. I want to be able to…”
His eyes moved around the room.
“…take care of you.”
Rose’s eyes widened.
“Take care of me?”
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“I’m not…” She shook her head quickly. “I’m perfectly okay.”
She was definitely not.
Adrian smiled.
“But…” Rose hesitated. “What was the epiphany then?”
“I want to have an empire.”
Her expression changed slightly.
“Not delusional shit,” he continued. “I wanna be rich, but I also want all those around me to get something too.”
He paused, choosing his next words.
“For example, your art gig. You could get it easily if I could actually help.”
Rose’s attention sharpened.
“So I want to start a brand,” he said.
Her expression visibly changed.
“A brand?”
“Yeah.”
Rose sat there for a moment, apparently trying to process it.
“The thing is, I’m willing to invest in many others. I have the funds, and let’s just say I have the intuition on who to invest in.”
She opened her mouth but he cut her off instantly.
“You’re one of them.”
Rose’s gaze remained on him.
“But I won’t lie to you, Rose. You’re not the only one I’m willing to invest in.”
Her expression changed.
“So there are other women?”
Adrian paused for a beat.
Then nodded.
“Jenna.”
Rose stared at him.
“That’s why she was here on Sunday morning?”
“That’s one of the reasons.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What’s the other reason?”
Adrian didn’t look away.
“I like her.”
Rose’s expression changed immediately.
Her eyes drifted downward, and she let out a small scoff.
“Um. Wow. That’s… that’s really something.”
Adrian watched her reaction for a moment.
Then the words came out before he could overthink them.
“…But I love you, Rose.”
He stopped.
Even he was surprised.
He hadn’t intended to say that.
But strangely enough, it didn’t feel bad.
Rose slowly turned back toward him.
Her gaze locked onto his, searching his face as though she was trying to determine whether he was joking.
Adrian held her gaze.
Judging by the small change in her expression, she seemed mildly satisfied with what she’d found.
“I don’t want to lie to you,” Adrian said. “But I also don’t want you to see me like scum.”
He shifted slightly, keeping his eyes on her.
“I’m willing to grow us, and by doing that, I need the two of us locked in. I love you, and I’m ready to push for that. But I want you to know there’s a possibility that I’ll invest in other girls too.”
Rose remained quiet.
“There will be other people,” he added. “But I needed to have the talk with you.”
She stared at him for several seconds.
Then Rose looked away and dropped back onto the bed, her eyes settling on the ceiling.
“Why do they have to be other people?”
Adrian watched her profile.
“If you wanna invest, why not invest in me?”
That part, at least, he had an answer for.
“I can’t exactly afford a gallery. Or an art show. Not now.”
He paused.
“But since we have money that can be easily gotten from other sources, we could walk toward that.”
Rose’s eyes shifted back toward him.
“At the end, it all works toward us building a future together,” Adrian continued. “Which I believe is perfectly achievable.”
A moment passed.
Rose stared at him.
She didn’t particularly look suspicious, but she kept her eyes on him, clearly weighing everything he’d just said.
Adrian waited.
Then—
“Fine.”
He blinked.
“Fine?”
She glanced at him.
“Fine. We’ll do your investment deal.”
Adrian smiled, though he was still a little unsure about how easily that had gone.
Then Rose lifted a finger.
“But.”
His smile faded slightly. He waited.
“There’s a condition.”
“Of course there is.”
She ignored the comment. “You have to check it by me first before you add any girl to your investment list.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“If I don’t see her, or I believe she’s not fit to be part of what we’re building, then I can reject her.”
Adrian stared at her. That sounded a lot like she was his manager. And it definitely didn’t sound good for him.
“It kinda sounds a bit bossy.”
“It’s a precaution.”
“A precaution?”
Rose nodded firmly.
Adrian studied her expression. She actually seemed serious.
“How about we do it fifty-fifty?”
“Fifty-fifty?”
“Yeah.”
He leaned back slightly.
“If you can give me a good enough reason not to add a girl, then I won’t make the investment.”
Rose watched him.
“But if I can give you a better reason for why she should be added, then I can add her.”
Rose immediately began arguing against it, and Adrian had to hold up a hand more than once just to keep the discussion from turning into another argument.
He wasn’t trying to overpower her.
He was trying to make it fair.
Eventually, after a few moments of consideration, Rose sighed.
“Fine.”
Adrian smiled.
“We have a deal then.”
“I guess we do.”
Rose pushed herself upright.
Adrian’s eyes immediately betrayed him, and he had to force his attention back to her face.
“So…” she said, a small smile returning to her lips. “Tell me, Mr. Investor…”
She leaned slightly closer.
“Who’s your first target? Let me guess…” she kept her gaze. “Jenna?”