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starseternalnighttriumphant · 3 years

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RED CARPET AFFAIR: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

RATING: M for mature. NOT suitable for readers under 18 years old; read at your own risk.

WARNINGS: None

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Guyssss this is the last chapter of RCA! It’s bittersweet when you finish a fic but I think this chapter wraps up everything nicely. I think I start this fic almost two years ago, and it feels weird to close the door on another fic. But I’m thankful to everyone who has read and loved this fic. I love you guys xoxo.

also, the instagram picture is at the very end of the chapter or else it would be a spoiler lol.

Time passed in waves.

One moment there was nothing but a burning fire threatening to consume her. The next she felt as if she was drifting through darkness. Sometimes she could hear things: a soft voice, steady beeping. Sometimes she couldn’t focus on anything besides the utter pain that was ripping through her body. Pain that burned and twisted and finally pulled her back underwater.

One moment she heard a voice she knew better than any other sound.

“And the extent of her injuries?”

A muffled answer and then that voice again. “I want around the clock care for her.”

Something inside her was soothed by the voice and she tried, she tried so hard, to rise up out of the fog stifling her, to reach towards that voice. But it seemed that time was not ready for her to move, and unconsciousness found her again.

Another moment that was nonlinear.

She came to, her jumbled conscience zeroing in on the warmth encasing her hand. Skin against skin, a thumb was brushing across her knuckles. It felt good, it felt like home. She tried to open her eyes, dismayed that they seemed as if glued shut. She tried to speak, to say anything to whoever was holding her hand, and she could’ve cried out when a wave crashed over her once again, dragging her off.

After an eternity, more and more came back to her. A steady beeping filled her ears. Her fingers twitched, brushing against a coarse blanket. She took in a deep breath, frowning at the burning pain that rolled across her chest. Her right hand felt warm and heavy, and she realized that someone’s hand was in hers— the hand that she’d felt earlier.

She struggled to open her eyes, lids feeling as though bricks sat upon them. She blinked cartoonishly, her vision slowly coming back into focus. A frown pulled down her lips again as she gazed at her surroundings.

She was in a hospital room. Faint, warm light glowed in the room and she looked out the large windows to see it was night time. The TV was on but the sound off, and the door to the room was wide open. She looked at all the tubes attached to her, letting out a sigh as it seemed she had a million IVs attached to her. Then she looked to her right, and she swore her heart almost stopped.

Rowan was there, his hand in hers, his head resting on the bed. He was fast asleep, face relaxed. The position had to be uncomfortable but she saw the dark circles under his eyes and knew he hadn’t gotten enough sleep within the past few days… most likely due to the fact that she was here lying in a hospital bed.

Tears blurred her vision as she gently untangled her hand from his to run her fingers through his silvery hair. She tried not to wake him but she sniffed a little too loudly and his eyes blinked open sleepily. They immediately fell on her face and then he was wide awake, standing over her, whispering things to her as he cupped her face in his hands.

“Rowan—” she choked on a sob and he pressed a kiss to her forehead before resting his own against hers.

“It’s okay love, I’m here. You’re okay,” he whispered, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

He held her like this until her tears dried and then he pulled back, taking her hand in both of his before sitting back in his chair.

“What happened? How did you find me? What—”

Rowan shushed her, running his thumb over her knuckles. “Take it easy. You have a broken ankle, bruised ribs, and lost a lot of blood.”

As if his words had unlocked the memory in her head, the events of that night flashed through her. The dampness of the basement. The agony of Cairn breaking her ankle. The burning slice of his knife on her thighs, her wrists. The fear of not knowing if she’d ever see Rowan again, if she would even live with all the blood loss.

Fast, incessant beeping broke through her thoughts and she realized her heartbeat had gone haywire as she’d sunk back into her memories. Rowan was up again, running his fingers over her face, murmuring that she was okay, that he would never allow anything to happen to her ever again.

The next morning, Rowan had explained to her what had happened from the time she’d been kidnapped until now.

It had been revealed that Maeve had a borderline obscene obsession with Rowan for years. How her husband had never found out was still a mystery. At first, Lyria had been the subject of Maeve’s threats. But when it seemed that Lyria had no interest in Rowan besides friendship, Maeve had backed off. It was even revealed that Remelle had also received threats from the woman, but had brushed it off since she’d received many from her time spent with Rowan.

Since Aelin had been the first woman Rowan took genuine interest in in years, she quickly became the focal point of Maeve’s wrath. The raid on Maeve’s house had produced a lot of damning information. There had been written out plans on ways to make Aelin’s life hell, plans varying from ruining her job to outright killing her. When Rowan had shared that with her, she couldn’t stop the shiver that had shaken her nor the queasy feeling that flipped her stomach.

It had also turned out that Maeve had enlisted Chaol’s help by threatening his wife who was heavily pregnant with their first child. That’s why it had never made sense why Chaol had been involved in the first place— Aelin should’ve listened to her gut. Upon learning this, the poor man had been released from house arrest and all charges dropped against him. Aelin would have to visit him once she was out of the hospital.

When she’d asked what would become of Maeve and Cairn, Rowan told her that they would have to testify against them in court and then, hopefully, the pair would go to jail for a very long time. She felt sick at the thought of seeing Maeve and Cairn again, but she would testify if it meant she had the satisfaction of knowing they would rot in jail for the rest of their lives.

To her dismay, she had been in the hospital for five days and the doctor that had been in charge of caring for her requested that she stay for two more. Rowan had tried not to smile at her ire. He stayed by her side, only disappearing for a few hours over the course of the rest of her stay to go home and shower and take a nap— those hours Aedion and Lysandra would take over for him, staying with her and trying to cheer her up. Lysandra had brought a huge gift basket from the publishing office where everyone was worried about her and hoping she would get well soon because they missed her. She may or may not have gotten teary-eyed as she’d looked over the goodies, her favorite chocolates and snacks.

The final morning came and she let out a huge sigh of relief as she was finally discharged, Rowan carrying all her things since she was on crutches for the next six weeks. He helped her all the way out to where his car sat in a parking garage, and she sent up a silent prayer that there were no paparazzi to be seen. Gods knew they had to be foaming at the mouth, wondering what happened to her. She was sure the events were splashed across every news outlet and social media account. She cringed just thinking about it.

Rowan helped into the car and then they were off to his apartment, her hand in his as he drove. She looked over at him, tracing over every inch of his face, memorizing every slope and curve. She smiled slightly to herself, her heart thumping as she took in his profile.

“Do I have something on my face?” he asked after a moment, eyes shooting to hers before turning back to the road.

She grinned and shook her head, leaning back in the seat. “No, I just wanted to take a good look at you.”

“And? Is my face everything you’ve ever wanted?”

She snorted but released his hand to run a finger down his jaw. “You could use a bit more stubble.”

He laughed and her heart clenched. She hoped she heard that sound for the rest of her life.

ONE YEAR LATER

Aelin’s fingers tapped nervously on her knee as the limousine drove through the heart of the city to the convention center.

She and Rowan had stayed out of the public eye for the past few months, long enough that wild rumors had been floating around for weeks. They hadn’t posted pictures together for four months, which had caused everyone to wonder and demand if they had broken up. She posted her own pictures, and he had too, but almost every comment begged the question. Candids of Rowan walking alone on the streets of Orynth covered gossip magazines every week, but not one paparazzi had managed to get a good shot of Aelin for almost six months.

And it was just the way they had planned it.

“Why are you nervous?”

Aelin turned to Rowan, who was relaxed and looking absolutely delicious in an all black suit, a stark contrast to the cream colored dress that clung to every inch of her. They were on the way to the premiere of the third movie, their first public event in a long time.

“The whole world thinks we aren’t together. For all they know, I could be dead or something,” she told him.

He let out a short laugh. “You posted your breakfast yesterday on Instagram.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’m just… worried about what will happen once everybody finds out.”

Rowan grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles. “No matter what happens, I love you and I will be here for you.”

She smiled softly at him, leaning in to kiss him quickly as the limo came to a stop. Outside, it seemed like thousands of cameras were flashing and she could hear the low rumble of the crowd. She took a deep breath and looked at her boyfriend, who was watching her with a warm expression.

“You ready?” he asked, kissing her once more.

She nodded and he grinned, turning to open the car door. He stepped out first and twisted back to offer a hand to her. She let him help her out of the car and onto the red carpet, running a hand down her gown.

For a moment, she wondered if she had gone deaf. There was no talking, no whispers, and no incessant camera clicking. It was as if the presence of them had sent everyone into silence. A moment later people were cheering and yelling, and she was blinded by the camera flashes. She put on her best smile as she wrapped her arm in Rowan’s, letting him guide her down the red carpet.

Every single paparazzi and reporter was shouting their names, begging for the couple to look their way or answer a few questions. Aelin’s gaze landed on the reporter that had first interviewed them as a couple— the young woman had put out a touching article after interviewing them so Aelin felt safe in murmuring to Rowan to head over to the reporter for an interview.

“Aelin, Rowan, my gods you guys look absolutely amazing,” the reporter gushed, her eyes alight with excitement. “And I cannot believe this is why you two have been hiding for the past few months.”

Aelin let out a surprised laugh as she looked down at the well-rounded swell of her stomach. She ran a hand over the pronounced bump, her smile softening. She looked back up to Rowan, whose smile was near blinding, and then back to the reporter.

“We wanted to surprise everyone,” she said, her hand continuing to stroke her stomach through the soft fabric. “We also wanted the beginning of the pregnancy to be as stress free as possible, and thank the gods that it was.”

“How far along are you? Do you know the gender? Any baby names?” The young woman was practically vibrating with questions, and Aelin couldn’t help but enjoy the reporter’s exuberance.

“I’m six months pregnant. We know the gender but we’re going to keep it a secret,” Aelin answered, looking up to Rowan again as she smiled.

“As for baby names, we argue about it every day,” Rowan said, pinching Aelin’s nose playfully.

The reporter asked a few more questions about the pregnancy and the premiere and then they were heading down the red carpet and into the convention center, away from the swarm of paparazzi and reporters.

“That wasn’t too bad,” Rowan commented, leading her towards the screening area.

“No, it wasn’t,” she murmured, smiling down at her pregnant belly.

Rowan slowed to a stop and took her in his arms, hands coming up to cup her face. She looked up into his green eyes, melting at the warmth and love she found there.

“You’re absolutely glowing,” he breathed, mouth coming down to brush hers. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she whispered, pressing her lips against his.

He kissed her deeply and then he was pulling away, leading her not towards the screening area but down a hallway.

“Where are we going?�� she asked, confused.

“We have half an hour before the movie starts,” he explained, and pulled her into a private bathroom, locking the door. “And you look so beautiful and pregnant that I wish we’d stayed home so I could fuck you all night long.”

Her toes curled in her shoes and she pulled him to her. “We don’t have all night, but like you said… we have half an hour.”

She laughed when Rowan picked her up and set her on the counter.

They missed the first fifteen minutes of the movie.

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