Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

"Come on, Roseanne, I know you're in there. Open up. Let's talk."

"Roseanne! Can you hear me?"

...

"Way to go, Roseanne, way to go! Locked the door, huh? You think that will stop me?"

From pleading to calm and gradually raging, Murray's patience was thinning by the moment.

As he was about to give up and turn away, he was caught off-guard by a pair of stern eyes. Frozen, Murray frowned deeply.

Owen stood on the steps in the dimly lit, narrow stairwell, seemingly having just climbed up to this floor.

Given the time, it was clear why he was there.

After the fiasco with Corley and Owen's showing up, Murray was infuriated yet realized that the guys around Roseanne weren't so nobodies.

had someone dig into Owen's background. It turned out Owen was the youngest of

indifferently, "What if I

the chase. "You should know what she means

Owen challenged, "And?"

narrowed slightly. "If you were

not the smart

temper. "Roseanne is mine! She was. She's throwing a tantrum now but will always be mine

"She's a person, not an object. She doesn't belong to anyone. If she did, it would

acting out because she loves me too much." "Don't believe me? Knock on her door yourself. She won't open it for

past

He knew Roseanne wouldn't open the door for him. To

...

under a clear blue sky, the sound of waves was constant. The turquoise waters allowed a clear view of the fish swimming below. The sun was warm, the breeze

ago,

gone home for the holidays, she'd been sleeping in out of sheer boredom. On a whim, she

Leda mused, chin in hand,