[ Hearing Rose thank Mayerling takes Sharon pleasantly by surprise. Her eyes widen just a fraction as she glances at her fiancé, her smile tightening with a mix of pride and relief. She hadn’t truly been worried, but hearing her mother’s gratitude eases something deep in her chest. It’s so good it’s almost dizzying.

When Rose sniffles, Sharon instinctively reaches out, her cold fingers brushing lightly against her mother’s wrist in a brief, comforting gesture. At the question, she shifts her attention back to Mayerling, thinking back to their first meeting. ] It was typical Trench bullshit [ she says with a wry grin. ] We ended up in a long, creepy hallway being chased by some thing—everything in me screamed that looking back would be a terrible idea, so I didn’t. [ And she knows when to listen to her gut.

She nudges Mayerling’s foot with hers, playful despite the memory. ] He got us both into an elevator before we ended up... I don’t know, dead or worse. [ He'd caught her off-guard. She'd been ready to cook him. Leaning closer to Rose, she lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ] I might’ve been kind of an asshole to him. [ High-stress situations tend to bring out her prickly side, okay! ]