Seraph

AU Pt 2 - 1936 - Not an Update

Always the diligent homemaker, Rosalie flitted about her kitchen, tidying up after preparing breakfast for her husband, Royce. Just as she finished, she heard his familiar footsteps coming down the hall. He entered the kitchen, fully dressed in his suit and carrying a suitcase. Setting it down, he nodded to Rosalie and sat down to breakfast with his newspaper.

Rosalie stood, at the ready, near the table in case he needed anything else, which he always did. It didn't take long for him to lift his hand with his coffee cup, and Rosalie quickly grabbed the coffee pot and refilled it for him before retaking her place to wait for him to finish his meal.

When he did, he put his fork down and reminded her to lighten up on the salt for the eggs for future reference. He then kissed her on the cheek and headed out. He didn't stop at the crib in the living room just off the kitchen within his mother's view. He bypassed it without a second glance. He only commented that he would be late before heading toward the door to their apartment. He stopped briefly, his eyes lingering on some movers taking furniture into the corner-view apartment he longed for. He glared before finally leaving for work. He called out the reason why he would be late as an afterthought. He said that he would attend dinner with colleagues and not to wait up.

Rosalie sighed in relief at the notice and sat down to eat her breakfast before heading over to her son to see that he was still peacefully resting. She tidied up a bit before heading to the door to check on the workers' movement and see what the fuss was about. As she watched, she saw several large, burly men given directions by a beautiful brunette dressed impeccably. She seemed familiar, but Rosalie couldn't figure out from where.

Her eyes lingered on the woman. She couldn't help but compare herself to this new woman. Rosalie still felt her figure was better, as she had more of the hourglass figure men drooled over. But she could see this woman's appeal, which immediately put her on guard. She knew her husband had wandering eyes, and she would need to keep him away from this woman.

Almost as though she could sense her eyes on her, the brunette looked up and made eye contact with Rosalie. The other woman's eyes lingered as well. Rosalie believed she was doing the same that she had just done and stood up more straight with an intimidating glare just in case. But the other woman didn't turn away as other women typically would. Instead, a large, beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she crossed in front of the men moving furniture and approached Rosalie.

The strange woman removed the glove from her hand before extending it to Rosalie. "Hello, my name is Serafina Hart. I just moved into the apartment down the hall. Nice to meet you," she said while holding Rosalie's hand a little longer than she should.

Rosalie couldn't help but blush as she introduced herself and attempted to remove her hand from Serafina's grip. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she had caressed her hand before letting go. But she was probably imagining things. While thinking, she figured out from where she recognized the woman. The club she had visited with her husband weeks before. What were the odds that this woman moved into their building? Very strange.

Before Rosalie could question Serafina, she heard little William crying in his crib. She excused herself from the woman but couldn't close the door. The woman was blocking it, so she stepped into the room to get the baby, assuming Serafina would leave and close the door behind herself. When she heard the door click shut, she breathed a sigh of relief—until she heard the woman speak up from just behind her.