Defenceless

45. At Last

"Old money families are dangerous Jack, they could make you disappear along with every trace of you, like you never existed"

Silence reigned in the room since the incident, and something didn't sit well with Rose, although she knew deep down that the boy had been obsessed with her necklace for quite some time. Her emotional state was not ideal either, she didn't know what to believe. In less than an hour her prince charming had fallen from the pedestal and turned into a frog, it was as if she no longer recognized Jack.

As much as Ruth wanted to express how satisfied she was that the boy would no longer get in their way, she couldn't ignore the fact that he had stolen from her daughter, she was furious. Who did he think he was to take advantage of them?

But there was another unsolved mystery on the list... where was the missing crystal?

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm sorry, Ruth"

"On the contrary, thank you for your help. You have always cared for us, Cal"

The twenty-eight-year-old approached Rose seeking a reconciliation. Although she was not his fiancée, he appreciated her very much, since he met her he had always willed to protect her.

Caledon buried his nose in her neck, he wanted that hug to be comforting for both. Rose didn't just stay in doubt and in fear of what she might find, Jack is not a thief, she reached into Cal's trouser pockets, and in effect, she felt something hard, cold, and small. Just like his heart. She thought.

"What is this doing in your pocket?"

Ruth didn't struggle much to figure out which side to take when talking about the safety of her daughter.

"The boy didn't steal anything, did he?"

"Yes he did" Cal broke down "He stole the most precious thing to me. You, Rose"

Jack Dawson had just turned twenty-one, wherever he went he would be judged as of legal age. The Hockley attorneys wouldn't let him get out of jail until at least the wedding, and surely the attorney they'd assign him would be a Hockley as well.

He also had struggled tremendously to get through on the Royal Marine School, knowing nothing about accounting or marine biology, he played it to keep up with everyone else. All the stress, the sleepless nights, the notes so kindly given by his friends, the tutorials... nothing would have been worth it, he couldn't get to the finish line. He wouldn't finish the semester.

"You unimaginable bastard"

Rose realized he had indeed risked it all for her... for a girl whom he just met. He always said that he could see through her, and she didn't understand it until now. He had already seen the potential in her before she even saw it. She couldn't just stay and do nothing.

"Where are you going?! With him? To be the whore of a gutter rat?"

"I'd rather be his whore than your wife"

Caledon wouldn't let her go that easily, he ran behind her and grabbed her off the floor. "Let me go!!" She screamed. His hands hurt the girl, she definitely wouldn't win in strength, but in intelligence. Rose remembered the spitting lessons from Jack, hunched back and used it to free herself from Cal's chains.

The fiery redhead ran for her life, where? She didn't know it yet. Meanwhile, another drama was happening at the brig, this place was unreachable for the passengers, you had to run down a crew only corridor and go down three floors to get there. The result: no one can hear you scream.