Book 1 in the Adoration Series
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
Adeline Dubois is drowning. Fast.
She has tried to keep her head above the water, but every time she was able to get the smallest bit of air, she was dragged back under by the waves.
A familiar face from her...
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It must be surprising for Mom to hear me question her about my father the second I place my bag on the kitchen tiles. It's a shock for me, too. I didn't intend to ask her about him straight away, but his words have been replaying in my mind like a broken record, so it was impossible to stop myself from asking the question that's been on my mind for the past few days: why is he really here?
Mom has a frown on her face as she places Hugo on the floor, allowing him to run out of the kitchen as his tail wags wildly. "Pourquoi me demandez-vous cela?"
(Translation: Why are you asking me that?)
I don't want to tell her about my encounter with him, so I lie through my teeth. Well, it isn't a lie, just half of the truth. "Je suis juste curieux depuis samedi."
(Translation: I've just been curious ever since Saturday.)
She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest as pushes her weight to one leg, leaning slightly to the side. "Il semble qu'il essaie vraiment de changer. Il était vraiment gentil avec Evie et Rosa. Il les a même invités aux fiançailles—" Mom's mouth immediately shuts, her eyes shutting as her head lowers.
(Translation: It seems like he really is trying to change. He was really sweet to Evie and Rosa. He even invited them to the engagement—)
I frown, not understanding why she stopped. What did he do? My eyes widen as the realisation sets in. Mom's eyes open after a moment, guilt hidden under her strong expression. "Il les a invités à sa fête de fiançailles?" She hesitates before nodding, making my shoulders drop in defeat. "Ont-elles dit oui?"
(Translation: He invited them to his engagement party?) (Did they say yes?)
"Elles l'ont fait." She completely avoids my gaze, which only confuses me further. Why does she look like she's been caught in a lie?
(Translation: They did.)
Unless, I was never meant to know.
The feeling I got the same day my so called 'friends' lied to Mom about how I got addicted to drugs bubbles in my stomach; betrayal. My hands cover my abdomen, hoping to somehow suck the feeling out so I don't get sick all over the floor. "Tu n'allais jamais me le dire." The words come out as a statement rather than a question, which only intensified the look of guilt on her face. The front door opens, followed by Hugo's barking, but the sound isn't able to drag my attention away from Mom. "Pourquoi?"
(Translation: You were never going to tell me.) (Why?)
"Parce que je pensais que vous réagiriez de manière excessive."
(Translation: Because I thought you would overreact.)
"Réagir de manière excessive?" I scoff, not being able to believe the words coming out of her mouth. She opens her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. "Vous pensez que ma préoccupation pour mes sœurs est que je sois dramatique?" It's taking everything in me not to scream at her. The only thing stopping me is the fact that she's my mother. My nails dig into my palms, attempting to keep myself from potentially breaking anything in here.
