ROSE DEWITT BUKATER BEFORE TITANIC
Chapter Three

Rose woke up the next morning in her own bed, thank God. She went downstairs to find Cal eating breakfast with her mother.

"Rose, you finally woke up," Ruth said.

"Sweetpea...you like to sleep late, don't you?" Cal asked.

Rose smiled at him. Then, remembering last night, her smile faded. He was not the man of her dreams. He was the man of her nightmares.

"I'm going for a walk, Mother," Rose said, and ran out the door, slamming it behind her.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She ended up in a park. She laid down on a bench and started to cry. She hated her life. She hated Cal. She wasn't going to marry him. She just couldn't. She heard footsteps behind her, and it was Cal.

"Cal, please...leave me alone. I don't wish to speak to you right now," Rose said, sobbing.

"Rose...I'm sorry about last night. I'm sorry. But you have to understand that you're my fiancée now, and you must do what I say. Do you understand?" Cal asked.

"No. You don't control my life, Cal. You never will. I don't want to marry you. I..." She couldn't finish.

He slapped her across the face.

Chapter Four
Stories