Caden smiled,kissing her back.

Rose kissed him

He pulled away and kissed her collarbone then neck,releasing slowly.He let his head hover above her shoulder,his breath warm against her skin,only to let a whisper slip out.

Was all he muttered before he slid off her,making his way off the bed and heading to his study.Caden threw on a jacket,grabbing a pack and walking onto the back porch,sitting on the chair farthest from the door.He lit the cigar,the smoke twirling above him.Caden sighed,he'd rewarded her,and oh how he'd regret it.

Rose confused, got up and watched him leave. "Wait, sorry for what?" She asked as he left and she sat on the bed once more

The buissness,the music carreer,the stress,the money,everything,came crashing down.He was only met with the same thing everytime,though.

Rose eventuall got up and walked to stand beside Caden. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, curious. "What are you sorry for?" She asked quietly

Caden let out a long, shaky breath, the cigar hanging loosely from his fingers. He sat still for a moment, the weight of his own words threatening to spill over, but he fought it back. He wasn’t used to this. He wasn’t used to being vulnerable, to showing the cracks in his armor. But here they were, staring him in the face.

“I’m sorry, Rose,” he began, his voice barely above a whisper. The words tasted bitter, like they didn’t belong in his mouth. “I’ve been... messing up everything. Everything I touch. You don’t deserve it. I promised you something I couldn’t keep. I promised you balance, that I could handle it all.”

His breath hitched, and for a moment, it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. He clenched his jaw, trying to push the feeling down. There was no time for weakness.

“I thought I had control. I thought I could juggle the medical business, the music, the team, and... and you,” he choked out, the words sharp and raw. His chest tightened as a lump formed in his throat. "But it’s all slipping away from me, and I can’t fix it. Can’t fix us. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. It’s all becoming too much, Rose. I—"

His words faltered. A tear escaped his eye, and he wiped it away quickly, ashamed. He took in a ragged breath, trying to steady himself. The weight of everything—the expectations, the demands, the constant pressure—was crashing down on him.

“No... No, I can’t say this,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head violently. “I’m not that guy. I can’t be that guy.”

He wiped his face again, the breath coming in uneven, strangled gasps. His hands trembled slightly, and for a moment, he felt completely exposed, like all his carefully built facades were crumbling in front of him. The mask of the successful businessman, the confident singer, the linebacker who could dominate the field—none of it mattered now.

"I can't do this," he repeated, almost to himself, his voice breaking, the weight of it too much to carry.

Another shaky breath. He straightened up, trying to regain some semblance of control. His hands were clenched tightly around the cigar now, the ember glowing bright and hot, yet he couldn’t find any warmth in it.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, his voice hollow, before finally falling silent, his mind racing but his lips unwilling to speak any more of the truths that threatened to tear him apart.

Rose just stood there, her hand lightly resting on his broad, strong shoulder as she thought over his words

Caden’s eyes stayed fixed on the floor, the weight of his own words pressing down harder with every breath. His chest rose and fell in quick, uneven rhythms, as if his body itself didn’t quite know how to handle what his mind had just spilled out. There was nothing left now but the uncomfortable truth that had been clawing at him for so long.

The sharp ember of the cigar between his fingers was the only thing that seemed to anchor him to reality. But even its heat couldn’t chase away the cold emptiness creeping through him. He wanted to believe that he could handle it all, that he could still be the man who balanced everything—work, music, relationships—but the cracks in his facade were too wide now, the weight too much.

“I thought I had control…” he repeated, the words tasting even worse the second time. “But I don’t. I can’t fix it. Can’t fix us.” His voice faltered, each syllable heavier than the last, a chain pulling him deeper into his own despair.

The confession felt like a betrayal—not just to Rose, but to everything he had tried to build. To the image he had worked so damn hard to create. The successful businessman. The man who had everything figured out. The one who could be everything for everyone. And now, here he was, a broken man in front of her, and for a moment, he couldn’t even recognize himself.

His breath hitched again, and he wiped at his eyes, almost furious with himself for showing weakness. He didn’t do this. Not with her. Not with anyone. But it was too late. He was too far gone. The walls had fallen, and all that was left was this unbearable truth that had always lingered beneath the surface, clawing at him when he wasn’t looking.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered again, almost pleading, as if the words would somehow change the reality in front of him. But nothing could. Nothing would. And there was no escaping it now.

The cigar burned down to its nub in his hand, the heat almost too much to bear, but it still didn’t feel like enough. His hands shook, his mind whirling, and for the first time in years, he felt completely untethered. There was no control, no plan, no way to fix it. And for once, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“I’ve been here in your darkest times, Rose,” he muttered, his voice a thread, barely holding itself together. “But... can I be there for myself?”

The words lingered in the air, unanswered, and with them, the brutal weight of the truth settled in. It was a question that didn’t have an easy answer. Not yet, anyway. But as he sat there, trying to piece himself back together, one shaky breath at a time, he couldn’t help but wonder if there was even a way back.

Rose listened to him, knowing he'd had a hard and busy life, especially recently. She didn't know how hard it had hit him, though. "I'm sorry" She said quietly, feeling quite bad for him. She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his shoulder. "But I still love you and i'll be here every step of the way" She said quietly