M had no idea what Sophia was thinking—and frankly, if she did, she''d probably just call it crazy. All these people treated others like they didn''t even matter. It was just maddening.
By evening, after listening to Sophia rattle off her so-called "business
arrangements," M left the hospital in a daze. When she finally arrived home and opened the door, she found Cara crouched by the entryway, exhaustion etched across her face. The moment she saw M, Cara''s expression shifted to barely contained excitement.
"Ms. Suthend... you''re back."
"Mom!"
Adrian came barreling into her.
The collision nearly knocked M off her feet; she had to grab the doorframe to steady herself before she finally managed to nod at Cara. "Thank you for looking after Adrian today. Why don''t you stay for dinner? I can have someone drive you home afterward."
"Oh, no, no, that''s really not necessary!"
Cara waved her hands in frantic refusal. Thest thing she wanted was for her boss to cook for her. Realizing how abrupt she sounded, she hurried to correct herself: "Ms. Suthend, I actually have dinner ns with a friend. You''ve had a long day-please, get some rest. I don''t want to trouble you."
She grabbed her bag and all but ran out the door, her retreat so hasty it was as if she feared being caught in some awkward scene of M scolding her child.
Only after M led Adrian into the main hall did she suddenly understand Cara''s reaction. The living room looked like a tornado had swept through. Throw pillows were on the floor, books stacked in odd ces, toys everywhere.
No wonder Cara had looked so frazzled. Judging by the mess, she''d spent the whole day cleaning up after Adrian-and probably being run ragged in the process.
M''s gaze shifted to her son.
Adrian stared up at her with wide, innocent eyes. When he saw her looking, he nced away, then quickly back again, hands on his hips, trying to look affronted. "Mom, you left me home alone today. It was so boring."
"You had Miss Cara here, didn''t you?"
"I wanted you to stay with me!"
M let out a sigh. After a day full of shocks, she didn''t have the energy to discipline him. She offered a few words offort and retreated to the kitchen, her mind still spinning.
She couldn''t ask Cara to babysit again-Cara probably wouldn''t agree even if she did. Yet M didn''t trust anyone else, and the only other option was sending Adrian to the Montgomerys. But she''d promised Jade she''d let Adrian choose for himself between the Suthend and Montgomery families. Sending him there now would break that promise... and with the Cossio situation unresolved, M wasn''t about to risk taking Adrian abroad, either.
Cossio was fixated on the Montgomerys. Adrian carried the Montgomery bloodline there was no getting around that. M knew there was no reasoning with someone like Cossio; she''d tried already, to no avail.
There was one person left to consider-
Forrest Whitmore.
But just the thought of Forrest made her headache worse. Adrian had made it abundantly clear after that night at the Pembroke house that he didn''t like Forrest at all. No matter how much M asked, Adrian refused to say what had happened between them.
This couldn''t go on.
"Adrian."
At dinner, M ced a chicken drumstick in Adrian''s bowl and broached the subject, choosing her words carefully. "I''ll be pretty busy these next few days and won''t have much time during the day. How about you let Mr. Whitmore take you out? Maybe you two can have some fun together."
She figured another meeting might help the two of them get along, or at least
break the ice. It was worth a shot.
But Adrian, without missing a beat,
picked up the drumstick and
dropped it back into her bowl, making his opinion clear without a word. M stared at him, speechless for a moment, then sighed and put the drumstick back. "If you don''t want to, just say so. Where''d you pick up this habit? Eat your dinner."
Adrian eyed her warily, then said bluntly, "I don''t want to y with Mr. Whitmore!"
"Why not?" M asked, exasperated.
"You''ve only met him once. That night, he went all the way to the Pembrokes because he was worried you''d be scared. If you don''t like him, you need to give me a reason. Did he do something to upset you?"
Adrian hesitated, his face twisting with indecision. Finally, he asked, "Mom, do you like Mr. Whitmore a lot?"
"We''re talking about you right now," M replied.
Adrian looked down, poking at the chicken in his bowl with his fork, silent for a long moment. Then, barely above a whisper, he said, "I don''t like him. I hate him. I don''t... I don''t want a stepdad." His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke.
A stepdad?
M was caught off guard. That was thest thing she''d expected.
But maybe, she realized, this was her chance to see how Adrian really felt about the idea.
"What is it about Mr. Whitmore you don''t like?" she asked gently.
"Stepdad!" Adrian blurted, almost angrily.
M felt at a loss. Before she could think of what to say, Adrian, who''d seemed on the verge of calming down, suddenly got loud and agitated. "So it''s true, Mom! You really don''t want me anymore!"
M frowned. "That''s not true. Why would you think that?"
"Then don''t try to give me a stepdad!" Adrian clutched his fork, his voice trembling.
"I don''t want a stepdad. I only ever want one dad!"
M''s headache returned full force. She didn''t understand how the two things were connected.
She tried to exin, "Adrian, no matter what happens, you''ll always be my child. That''s never going to change. But I also-" have my own life.
Bang!
She didn''t even finish her sentence. Adrian sprang up so suddenly that his fork
and bowl went flying, the chicken rolling across the floor.
"I don''t want it he shouted, his face
ine
streaked with tears. "I only have one dad, and just want him! I don''t want anyone else! You don''t want me anymore-everyone was right! When you divorced Dad, you never even thought about me! Dad''s gone now, and you''re leaving too-you don''t want me, you never did! I hate you!"
He bolted from the table and ran upstairs, his sobs echoing down the hall.