"She demanded I invite her to dance. I was very reluctant, but considering five million silver dollars, I obliged. We're square—neither owes the other anything."
Victor said it matter-of-factly, completely disregarding the girl's feelings.
"But I ran into Luna today. In her mind, it doesn't seem like the 'square deal' you described. She seems convinced she'll marry you."
On the other end, he sighed softly:
"Luna has set her sights on me. What about you, Rose? Would you set your sights on me? Or would you stay for me?"
But I couldn't bring him five million silver dollars—I'd only bring him trouble and headaches. I hadn't even considered staying.
So what right did I have to question his decisions?
"I finally got through on the phone. Can we stop talking about Luna?"
My voice was hoarse: "Then what did you call to say?"
"To say I miss..."
The line suddenly went dead, replaced by the hollow sound of static.
Redialing didn't work.
Signal instability, sudden power outages, or emergencies could all cut our connection.
How precious every second of this phone call was—I shouldn't have wasted it on other things.
The call had come without warning, and ended just as abruptly.
My mood shifted from one knot of complexity to another.
I knew the history, but I'd never intended to change it. Because from the first time I met him until now, I'd asked him to stay three times, and each time he'd refused without hesitation—returning to his era no matter how broken he was.
I'd accepted reality. I'd accepted that I couldn't change Victor.
Yes, he liked me. But that like was conditional on me staying, on me being obedient, forever waiting in his General's Estate—like a plant, like a pet, well-protected and carefully tended. He'd check on me when he was free, admire me, and sigh that Rose was a woman from a hundred years in the future.
Beyond that, I had no other value.
So I also wanted to return to my own era. Even as a nobody at the bottom—I was at least not a plant, not a pet.
In truth, I was just as unchangeable for Victor as he was for me.
He might wonder why I'd refused him. Wasn't being the Young Marshal's woman better than being ordinary?
Grace saw that the phone call had only made me more troubled, so she didn't press further.
I retreated to my room alone, curled up on the sofa, thoughts tangling until I fell asleep.
5.
Victor had taken Jay to the northeast—to resettle the traitor's family.
That man had taught Victor for ten years. Now that he'd betrayed Victor, Victor still treated his family well.
By my count, Victor should return the day after tomorrow.
Instead, right after noon, I heard two familiar car honks followed by Victor's voice.
Grace didn't even look up, murmuring with a smile: "Seems someone came back early."
I followed the sound to the door.
The military jeep's tires were splattered with mud.
But the man who stepped out was immaculate.
He wore a light shirt with a silver-gray vest, tailored trousers, and military boots—clearly he'd tidied up before coming home.
In the sunlight, he smiled, handsome and composed, his long legs stepping steadily into my heart.
I stared, a bit dazed, completely forgetting our fight yesterday over Luna.
"Grace said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow."
He smiled, walked around to open the passenger door for me. I was holding my skirt to get in—
But he pulled me by the waist and pinned me against the door.
"I came back early because I missed you. What about you? Did you miss me?" He tilted his head, staring into my eyes.
In broad daylight, flanked by stern-faced guards.
The sudden intimacy flustered me completely.
"Can't this wait until we're in the car?"
I grumbled, but he silenced me with a kiss.
I pounded his shoulder twice before he released me.
"Who was it that held my neck and begged me not to leave, to stay with her? Did I mistake her for someone else?"
He laughed softly, his clear eyes reflecting me, the warmth in them rising.
My face burned, my breath caught. I couldn't keep looking, ducking into the car and pulling the white sunshade closed.
When he wasn't around, I was rational and capable of thought.
Now I was like an ostrich with its head in the sand, leaving every crisis outside, only seeing what was in front of me.
We were alone in the car.
I asked: "No bodyguards this time?"
"Bringing others makes you uncomfortable. I'll have to double as your driver and bodyguard."
The car started. He kept his eyes on the road.
I looked at his profile—sunlight streaming through the window, his light clothes making his features ever more striking.
Catching me staring openly, the corners of his mouth lifted: "How's my ordinary bodyguard doing? Satisfactory, Miss Rose?"
He drove one-handed, the other finding mine and wrapping it tight.
"Where are we going?" I didn't give him another chance to humblebrag.
He said with a smile: "On a date."
A date?
My cheeks started burning again. I looked forward to it.
But then I remembered yesterday's fight over Luna and said deliberately: "I want to dance."
"Dance?" He confirmed.
I nodded firmly:
"After all, a single dance with the Young Marshal is worth a lot of money. I want to be the one who gets to dance with him for free."
Raising the old issue, he looked down and smiled, agreeing with a soft, lingering "Okay."
"And I want to go to your biggest dance hall. The Paramount."
Victor's smile faded slightly: "Does it have to be the Paramount?"
"Yes! I've always wanted to go. It's the premier dance hall of the East—it's been open for a hundred years."
As a modern person, visiting famous landmarks was baked into my DNA.
He seemed surprised: "The Paramount still exists a hundred years from now?"
"It does, except it's been renovated with modern screens and sound systems. Lost its original charm," I answered with a hint of regret.
He laughed low: "So there are things in Miss Rose's world that don't measure up to ours."
He abandoned the originally planned restaurant and rerouted to the west district.
As dusk fell, we arrived at the Paramount Dance Hall.
Getting out, he instinctively scanned the area—dark alleys, rooftop vantage points—everything checked.
And I instinctively looked at him, at the present.
A tall, brown-skinned attendant led us through the doors. Warm crystal lamps illuminated an ornate interior, all polished gold and splendor.
Booths surrounded the dance floor.
It wasn't yet six, so the crowd was thin. No singing or dancing—just an eight-piece jazz band playing casually.
There were private rooms on the second floor, but they were too far from the dance floor.
I pulled Victor to the center of the dance floor. Alone there, I placed my hands on his shoulders, and he naturally rested his hands on my waist.
I couldn't meet his eyes, but I could hear his heartbeat.
I loved this closeness, as if the whole world shrank to just him and me.
"Victor, thank you."
"Thank me for what?"
"For going on a date with me."
The tension in his face since entering finally cracked into a smile.
That rare smile was worth more than all the glamour in the world.
His arms tightened around me. After a long while, he said:
"If you're willing, I can date you every day."
6.
Our bodies were already pressed together. He was tall, enveloping me, warm light with shimmering reflections playing across his shoulders in the light vest—strikingly beautiful.
I moved my hands from his shoulders to around his waist, pressing my cheek against his chest.
Inside, a powerful heartbeat—faster than usual, I thought.
"Rose, are you willing? Will you date me every day?" He asked again, very seriously.
Almost without hesitation, I murmured: "Okay."
Dating every day. What did that imply?
I didn't want to examine it too closely.
Whenever I was near him, I lost my mind, grasping at every chance to be together.
Not considering what I'd lose if I could never return to the modern world, or the uncertain Su-Zhe war and whether he could win.
Only today did I realize—I might truly be in love with him.
I became fearful of loss, terrified of looking too closely and discovering it was all a dream, left with no recourse but to spend my life on fantasy.
The dance floor grew crowded. I grew tired from dancing.
Looking at the menu, Victor wasn't satisfied:
"I prepared a surprise for you at the restaurant I booked. Let's go there instead."