During the weekend, Rosalie signed Evelyn, Noah, Liam, and even little Seth up for martial arts classes.
When Dean questioned her sudden decision, Rosalie calmly smiled and gave the excuse she had already prepared.
"There's been a lot of violence on the news lately," she said lightly. "I just want them to know how to protect themselves."
She even added casually, "I was thinking of mentioning it to Lilith too. Maybe Chloe and Caleb should join the classes as well so they can defend themselves."
Of course, Rosalie had absolutely no intention of speaking to Lilith about anything. But she knew Dean well enough to understand how his mind worked. If she acted concerned about Lilith and her children, any suspicion he had would disappear immediately.
Just like she expected, Dean's expression brightened.
"That's a great idea," he said. "All the children should know how to protect themselves. I'll talk to Lilith myself."
Rosalie smiled warmly.
"You're such a kind man to my sister."
Inside, however, she was seething.
The same man who was talking about protecting children had allowed his own children to die in her previous life.
******************************************
When Rosalie drove the children to their first class, Evelyn suddenly spoke from the back seat.
"Mom?"
Rosalie glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Yes?"
"Why are we suddenly learning martial arts?" Evelyn asked curiously. "You didn't want us to before."
Rosalie's hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel.
Evelyn was right.
In her past life, Rosalie had refused when Evelyn asked to learn karate for her seventh birthday a year ago. At the time, she believed children shouldn't learn violence. She thought teaching them to fight would make them aggressive.
Now, after surviving years in the apocalypse, she realized how naïve that belief had been.
Children didn't need protection from violence.
They needed protection from the world.
Rosalie gave Evelyn the same explanation she had given Dean, though she softened her tone.
"I've been watching the news a lot lately," she said. "There have been stories about children getting kidnapped. It made me realize that I was wrong before."
She glanced at Evelyn and smiled gently.
"You should be able to protect yourselves if something ever happens."
That part, at least, wasn't a lie.
The real reason was that the apocalypse would arrive in just a few months. Rosalie wanted the children to at least have some basic training before the world collapsed.
Once the apocalypse started, she would train them herself.
Right now, however, the children didn't know she could fight. In this life she had never practiced martial arts before. Everything she knew had been learned the hard way while struggling to survive during the apocalypse.
The children were excited.
Evelyn and the twins had always been interested in martial arts, while Seth was mostly excited about learning "cool moves."
None of them realized that those "cool moves" might one day save their lives.
******************************************
While the children were inside the training center, Rosalie used the time to check on the bunker.
After that, she drove to the warehouse to pick up an order she had placed a few days earlier.
Inside were boxes filled with seeds.
There were seeds for flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and staple crops. Rosalie had ordered them from all over the world. Some of the rarer varieties hadn't arrived yet, but they would soon.
Food would become one of the most precious resources after the apocalypse.
Seeds were the future.
Rosalie walked through the warehouse and quietly placed every box into her space. When the last one disappeared, the large storage room looked almost empty.
She locked the warehouse before driving to the bunker.
Inside, the underground structure was cool and silent. The faint hum of the ventilation system echoed through the halls.
Rosalie slowly walked through each room, checking everything carefully.
The living area.
The storage rooms.
The water purification system.
The emergency exits.
Everything had to be perfect.
She planned to let the children decorate their own bedrooms later, but she still needed to set up the furniture for her own room and the common areas.
Most importantly, she needed to perform a full safety inspection to make sure the bunker was as secure as possible.
Because once the apocalypse began, this place would become their home.
Rosalie stood in the center of the bunker and looked around quietly.
In her previous life, she had struggled desperately just to find safe shelter for her children.
This time…
She was ready.