The sudden absence of Rosalind in his life felt crushing, and Rowan did not know what else to do except bury all of his feelings beneath duty.
He had no anchor now, and he realized just how much he had relied on Rosalind emotionally.
Even then, he had to accept that he had done this to himself by pushing away the one person who had remained by his side through everything.
So from moving around the palace and attending to work, to sitting through council meetings, it had all been overwhelming, and more than once he found himself wishing there was someone he could fall back on.
But there was no one.
Rowan looked at the paper in his hand and wondered whether it would be too much if he asked how she was doing, whether she had settled into Merovia and how well it was treating her.
Even though she had said she needed space, she could not possibly have meant that he was forbidden from asking about her.
