My ears catch the sound of crying as I step out of the shower. I put Rose to sleep so that I could go take a shower but apparently she just woke up again. I wrap a towel around my body and another around my hair before walking out into the room.

She's in her cot, crying and screaming. But the moment I lift her out she stops crying. I sigh and kiss her cheek as she settles back into sleep. After holding her for a few minutes to make sure that she's asleep again, I settle her on the bed so that it's easier for me to handle her.

It's almost time for lunch now. Rose is having a hard time coming to term with our sleep schedule so we both have to stay up pretty much the whole night with her.

I choose a baby pink dress and change into it before drying my hair and running a brush through it to get rid of all the tangles.

By the time I finish getting ready Rose is awake again but she isn't crying, just staring up at the ceiling. When I move into her line of vision, her eyes find mine and a smile spreads across my face as I lift her up.

She snuggles into my arms as I straighten her jumper. Knowing that she'll be hungry by now, I feed her so that I don't have to come back to the room again.

Once she's done drinking, I straighten my dress before getting up and leaving the room. I walk down the hallway where the curtains have been pulled back from the large windows which show the bright sun outside.

I go down to the dining room and call for a housemaid. She appears just as I sit down. Adjusting Rose in my arms I ask her to put together whatever was left from breakfast and bring it to me out in the back garden.

I leave the palace, greeting the guards at the entrance and then I make my way around the building to the gardens at the back. I take a seat on a bench next to a rose hedge and look down at the baby in my arms. She's clearly in awe of the change of scenery.

"Did my baby get enough sleep?" I coo just as my phone starts to ring next to me on the bench.

I check the caller ID. It's William.

"Hey!" I greet him.

"Hi! How's Rose?" He asks.

"Seriously?!" I exclaim.

"What?" He asks, clearly shocked.

"Just because you're a father now doesn't mean you forget all about me." I huff.

"I didn't."

"It didn't seem like you remembered me."

"Cassy?"

"What?" I ask, as Rose moves in my arms.

"How are you?" He asks, as I balance the phone on my shoulder so that I can hold her properly.

"Good. Thanks for asking." I smile as I tease him.

"What're you doing?" He asks.

"The two of us came out into the garden for some fresh air." I reply, smiling at my daughter.

"Oh! That's nice." He says and then quickly adds. "I completely forgot about why I called!"

"Why?" I ask.

"We'll be having dinner tonight with everyone at the palace." He tells me.

"Everyone?" I ask, confused.

"Don't worry, don't dress too formal. None of them are going to judge you." He says and then I hear people on his end of the line.

"I have to go my meeting's about to start. See you tonight then."

"See you." I say, hanging up just as the housemaid appears with two butlers behind her carrying a table laden with food.

I might've been married to William for a year now but it still seemed weird to ask for leftovers and get a lavish meal instead.

-------------------

As the night approaches I start to get more and more anxious about dinner. I have no idea who'll be coming or what I should wear. For a few hours I try to get something out of Helen but finally I give up and retreat to my room.

I change Rose into a tinniest frock anyone could've possibly imagined. It's small enough to be a doll's. After I change her, I switch my pink dress for a navy blue one which gives me a formal as well as an informal look.

After applying a light layer of makeup. I check my reflection for the last time before leaving the room with Rose.

I descend the stairs slowly to make sure that I don't trip and tumble down the stairs. Once I reach the last few steps, I find William standing at their foot with a hand in his pant pocket, the other holding his phone to his ear.

He isn't wearing his coat and his sleeves are rolled up. I can't help the smile that spreads over my face as I climb down the last few stairs.

Will meets me at the last step. Putting an arm around me he draws me into him as our lips meet. I take out a hand from under Rose and place it on his shoulder to keep him steady. When we pull away, he smiles at me and then looks down at my arms.

"Hey little princess." He coos, taking her from me and kissing her cheek.

"How did your mother-daughter bonding time go?" He asks looking at me.

I smile at him. "It went well. Though, she slept through most of it."

This makes him laugh as he puts his other arm around my waist and kisses my forehead. I hear the doors behind us open and turn around to find Sophie walking in.

"Hi!" I greet her, surprised.

"Hey!" She says as we embrace. "Why do you look so surprised?"

"I just didn't know that you'll be joining us for dinner." I explain.

"You...Oh!" She exclaims as if understanding something obvious and William states that. "I didn't really tell her who'll be coming over."

"Well, it's you and...I don't know who else." I smile at her before adding. "Let's go to the dining room."

But when we walk in with William playing with Rose behind us there are more people waiting for us in the room already seated at the table.

"What is going on here?" I ask everyone.

Before either Anna, Harrison or Helen can say anything, Sarah replies. "It's a welcome back dinner for you and Rose."

A warm feeling spreads through my body. It's something you feel when you realize how much people care about you.

My eyes get watery. "Aww guys!" I swipe them away as Sophie squeezes my arm. "Thank you so much."

Anna and Helen leave their seats and give me a hug each. Once we finish our greetings, we all settle down and dinner is served.

There is pasta salad and I heap my plate with it.

"I thought that was just your pregnancy craving." Anna says.

"I know but I can't stop loving pasta." I reply, taking a bite and chewing.

This makes everyone laugh. The rest of the dinner passes with everyone holding Rose for a bit and laughing at little jokes.

"Alright time for presents." Helen says, once the housemaids clear the table and serve coffee.

"What presents?" I ask, setting my mug on the table.

"They're not for you. They're for Rosemary." She tells me.

"Oh!" Is all I say.

Anna got Rose a set of baby headbands, Sophie got her the cutest little jumper with a giraffe printed on it. Harrison pushes a box of chocolates towards me, saying.

"I really didn't know what to get her."

I smile at him. "No don't say that. Thank you for this though I'm sure that William's going to eat all of these."

Just as I say this, I hear an almost inaudible popping sound. I look at my side to find William reaching into the box, making us all double up laughing.

Helen goes last of all. She brought her a set of towels which are rolled up to look like a bouquet of flowers. I thank her just as Sarah reaches up and whispers something in her mother's ears to which she nods.

Shyly Sarah walks up to me and holds out her hand in which she's holding a folded piece of drawing paper. I unfold it to find the best present of all.

It's a picture of a baby dressed in pink, with a tiara on her head and there's a rose drawn on the corner of the page.

"Oh Sarah! This is so pretty." I tell her as I pull her in for a hug. "Thank you."

I look at Rose who is back in William's arms and is looking at us. I hold up the paper in front of her. She stares at it for a minute and then slowly a tiny smile appears on her face.

This is met with a chorus of 'awws.'

"She loves it." I tell Sarah, smiling at her.

This week's update is early since I have two days off from school.

I planned on updating yesterday since I'd already written half the chapter but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to complete it, so I'm updating today instead.

For now I've decided that this story is going to have fifty chapters but if I change my mind then there'll be more. But for now only six more chapters to go :)

Thank you so much for the 124K reads and 3.7K votes. Let's see how far the story is able to go before ending.

Read, Vote & Comment!

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P.S. The Royal & The Housemaid hit 406K reads! All of you who read the prequel and supported it, thank you so much! I love you guys! :)