Chapter 9 I Won’t Be the Sacrificial Lamb #2
The entire box was filled with them.
Rose stared at the snow globe for a moment before a faint, mocking smile appeared on her lips.
“This little thing used to cause me so much pain and uncertainty.”
She turned it over in her hands, studying it almost absentmindedly.
“And now…”
She let out a soft breath.
“I don’t feel anything at all.”
Her gaze moved over the box filled with snow globes.
“All that mess over something that cost less than ten dollars.”
The realization was strangely freeing.
The ache that had once consumed her whenever she thought about that stupid snow globe was gone. The uncertainty, the anger, the fear of losing Ivan—it had all disappeared.
Rose looked down at the snow globe one last time.
Then she turned to Troy.
“I need you to deliver this package somewhere. Can you help me?”
Troy immediately stepped toward the table.
“Of course, Miss Rose. Just tell me where you want it delivered, and I’ll make sure it gets there.”
***
Across the city, the Carrington Group headquarters remained busy, filled with the constant hum of employees, ringing phones, and hurried footsteps.
From the outside, everything looked as normal as ever.
But beneath the polished surface, the company was beginning to struggle.
Deals that had once been easy to secure were suddenly disappearing. One contract after another had been canceled, and despite the executives’ efforts to replace them with new business, every attempt seemed to end in failure.
Over the past week, the situation had deteriorated rapidly.
Inside the director’s office, Ivan stood behind his desk, flipping absently through a file in his hands.
He wasn’t reading a word.
His mind was somewhere else entirely.
Rose.
No matter how hard he tried to focus on work, memories of her kept creeping into his thoughts—the argument, the slap, the look on her face when she had walked away from him.
He found himself replaying the moment over and over again.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door.
Ivan’s head snapped up.
“Rose?”
The name left his lips before he could stop himself.
For one brief second, hope flashed across his face.
But when the door opened, his expression fell.
It wasn’t Rose.
An executive walked in carrying a stack of files.
“Mr. Carrington, may I speak with you? There are a few documents that need your signature.”
Whatever excitement had appeared on Ivan’s face disappeared instantly.
“Give them to me.”
He strode toward his desk, took the files from her, and quickly signed each document while she waited quietly.
Once he finished, he handed the files back.
The woman turned to leave, but her gaze caught on something sitting on a side table.
A small plant.
It was completely dead, its once-green leaves now brown and wilted.
“Mr. Carrington,” she said, frowning at it. “It looks like this plant has died. I’ll throw it out for you.”
She reached down and picked it up.
Ivan’s eyes immediately fell on it.
He froze.
Rose had gifted that plant to him.
She had always taken care of it herself, coming to his office every few days to water it and tend to it. She had been so careful with it, making sure it stayed healthy even though he had barely paid any attention to it.
And now, after only a week without her...
It was dead.
Something tightened painfully in Ivan’s chest.
His expression shifted from surprise to sadness, then hardened into anger.
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?”
The woman jolted, nearly dropping the plant.
“Can’t you take care of one goddamn plant?” Ivan snapped. “What’s the point of having so many people on this floor if you can’t even keep one fucking plant alive?”
Her shoulders jerked beneath his anger.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Carrington. I’ll see if we can revive it. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of.”
She hurried out of the office with the plant in her hands.
The door closed behind her.
Ivan remained standing there.
He slowly placed both hands against his desk and lowered his head, releasing a sharp breath through his nose.
For some reason, the sight of that dead plant had affected him far more than it should have.
Ivan released a frustrated breath and planted both hands on his desk, his head spinning with everything that had happened over the past few days. He barely had time to gather his thoughts before the office door opened and Terrence walked in carrying a big cardboard box.
“Looks like you’ve received a package from Rose,” Terrence announced, a teasing smile spreading across his face. “Wow. Your girlfriend finally remembered that you exist.”
Ivan’s head immediately lifted.
The mention of Rose was enough to change his entire expression. The tension that had been weighing on his face disappeared, replaced by a sudden flicker of anticipation.
“What is it?” he asked, already turning toward the box.
Terrence walked over and placed it on the desk in front of him. He picked up a pair of scissors, cut through the tape, and opened the box.
“I guess you’ll have to see for yourself.”
He reached inside and pulled out an object wrapped in protective paper. As he removed the covering, a snow globe appeared in his hand.
“What is this?” Terrence murmured, turning it over.
Then a grin spread across his face.
“Looks like a romantic snow globe. There are even two figures inside.” He glanced at Ivan with an amused expression. “Is that supposed to be you and Rose?”
Ivan’s eyes fell on the snow globe.
For a second, he didn't move.
Then the recognition hit him.
It was the exact same snow globe—the same design as the one Jessica had given him, the one Rose had broken.
His expression changed instantly.
The color drained from his face as the memory of that night came rushing back with brutal clarity.
He remembered Rose standing in front of him, the argument between them, and the moment his hand had struck her.
More than anything, he remembered the look on her face afterward—the shock and hurt in her eyes as she stared at him.
His jaw tightened.
Before Terrence could say anything else, Ivan abruptly reached across the desk, snatched the snow globe from his hand, and hurled it onto the floor.
Crash!
The glass shattered across the polished floor. Water spilled between the scattered shards, carrying glitter and tiny decorative pieces with it.
Terrence stared at the mess, then slowly looked back at Ivan.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “Why would you smash it?”
He turned back toward the box, pushed the flaps farther apart, and peered inside.
His expression changed.
“Wait…”
Terrence reached into the box and pulled out another snow globe. Then he looked inside again.
The entire box was filled with them.
Dozens of identical snow globes were packed neatly inside.
Terrence gave a short laugh.
“Looks like she knew you’d still be angry. That must be why she decided to give you a hundred of these.”
Ivan stared at the box, his chest rising and falling more heavily as his anger continued to build.
“She’s provoking me,” he said through clenched teeth.
Terrence looked at him in confusion.
“She’s deliberately trying to piss me off. She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
His voice grew harsher as he glared at the box.
“She’s lost her goddamn mind.”
Terrence frowned, unable to understand why Ivan was so furious over something that seemed so harmless.
“It’s just a fucking snow globe,” he pointed out. “What’s the big deal?”
Ivan didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and immediately dialed Rose’s number.
The call rang once.
Then again.
Ivan waited.
But before the call could connect, it abruptly ended.
He stared at the screen, his brows drawing together.
“She blocked me.”
Terrence looked at him in surprise.
“Are you sure?”
Ivan didn't respond. He immediately called again.
The same thing happened.
The call was rejected almost instantly.
He tried a third time.
Then a fourth.
Each attempt ended the same way.
Terrence stared at Ivan in disbelief, clearly running out of patience with him.
“You’re really going to keep acting like this?” he asked. “Things have already gone this far, Ivan. Rose isn’t coming back to you, and you haven’t even contacted her since that night. How exactly are you planning to fix things if you refuse to even talk to her?”
Ivan’s jaw tightened.
“I told you, she’s just angry. She needs time to calm the fuck down.”
“Except the fact that she’s clearly not calming down.”
Terrence shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Before he could say anything else, the office door opened.
Jessica stepped inside.
She had clearly overheard the last part of their conversation as she walked in, and her gaze immediately settled on Ivan.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Is Rose still upset with you?”
Ivan didn't answer.
He remained silent, his attention fixed somewhere in front of him.
Jessica didn't seem bothered by his lack of response. Instead, she moved closer and slipped her arm through his, pressing herself against his side.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” she said gently. “I think she’s probably still upset because of me. Why don’t I come with you and help you? I’m sure she’ll understand once we talk to her.”
She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.
“Rose gets upset over little things sometimes. You might have to be a little patient with her, but I’m sure the two of you can work this out. We should just go and talk to her.”
Jessica smiled.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
Ivan remained silent for a moment, the tension still visible in his expression. Finally, he released a heavy breath, slipped his phone into his pocket, and nodded.
“All right.”
He stood and walked toward the door, with Jessica immediately falling into step beside him.