Chapter 7 #2
Priya clears her throat. “Adriana, I have to say, I had no idea you were seeing anyone. You never mentioned dating. At all.”
“I’m a private person, Priya. You know that.” I hold her gaze. “Some things I keep to myself.”
She nods slowly, clearly not convinced, but smart enough to drop it.
“What do you need from us?” Sarah asks.
“Business as usual. Don’t let the vultures smell blood in the water. If anyone asks about my personal life, the answer is ‘we’re thrilled for Adriana.’ If they push for details, direct them to Jayne.”
“And the press release Patrick wanted?” Devin asks.
“Tabled. For now. We’ll make an announcement after the ceremony. On our terms, not theirs.”
Patrick frowns but doesn’t argue. Smart man.
“Anything else?” I ask.
Nobody speaks. They just shake their heads.
“Good. Then we’re done here. I’ll be reachable by phone and email, as always. If there’s an emergency, Jayne knows how to find me.”
I stand up and they all follow. The meeting is over.
Sarah catches my arm as I head for the door. “Adriana. Are you okay? Really?”
I look at her. Sarah’s been with me since the beginning. She’s seen me fight for every inch of this company. Seen me win battles that should have broken me.
“I will be,” I say. “I don’t have a choice.”
She squeezes my arm for a second, then lets go. She doesn’t say anything else.
She doesn’t have to.
The hospital is eerily quiet at this hour.
I’ve been here every day since the gala. I walk the same hallways, take the same elevator to the ICU, walk past the same nurses’ station where they now recognize me and greet me by name.
Dad’s private room is at the end of the hall. A guard is always stationed outside, a reminder that even in a coma, he’s still a target.
I push open the door and stop short when I see Mom sitting at his bedside.
She looks up, startled, rosary beads wrapped around her fingers.
“Hey, Mom.”
She manages a smile. Her eyes are red-rimmed, but she’s not crying anymore. She’s past crying. We all are.
“Adriana.” She holds out her hand. “Come sit with me.”
I cross the room and sink into the chair beside her. For a moment, we just sit there, looking at my father’s motionless form.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she says softly.
“I come every day.” I pause. “Even though I’m still so angry at him for this whole sham marriage contract.”
“I know how hurt you must be. How betrayed you must feel. But coming here anyway and being with him… it’s so important.
And above all else, you know he loves you so much and would never want you to suffer in any way.
” She reaches over and takes my hand, the rosary beads in her other hand.
Her fingers are cold and thin, and it jars me.
When did she get so fragile? “The nurses said you talk to your dad and tell him about your job.”
“It makes me feel closer to him, like I’m pretending he can hear everything I say.”
“I bet he can. And you know he always liked hearing about your work. Even when he pretended not to understand the business parts.” A ghost of a smile crosses her face. “He was so proud of you, Adriana. Is so proud. He’s not gone yet.”
My throat tightens. “I know.”
We sit quietly for a while. The machines beep. The ventilator hums. Outside, the sun is starting to set.
“Tomorrow,” Mom says finally. “You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“To a Molloy,” she says in a resigned voice.
“Yes.”
She sighs. “I didn’t know about the contract. I want you to know that. Dad never told me.”
“I know, Mom.”
“You know I would have said something. I would have fought him on it. You shouldn’t have to—” Her voice breaks, and she presses her free hand to her mouth.
“It’s not your fault.”
“It feels like my fault. All of it. The attack, the coma, this marriage.” She shakes her head. “I’ve been his wife for forty-three years. I thought I knew everything. But this… this blindsided me.”
I squeeze her hand. “It blindsided all of us.”
“Are you scared?”
The question catches me off guard. I’m supposed to be the strong one now. The one who holds everything together. But I need to have a momentary freakout over these circumstances. I’m allowing it for myself.
“Yes,” I admit. “I’m terrified.”
Mom nods. “Of course you are. You know, when I married your father, I knew what I was getting into. The life. The danger. The secrets. My mother warned me. My sisters warned me. But I loved him madly. So I did it anyway.”
“Did you ever regret it?”
She doesn’t answer for a couple of minutes, just stares at my father. The time stretches so long, I think she might not answer.
“Some days,” she says finally. “When he missed your birthday because of business. When I had to explain to you girls why Daddy couldn’t come to your school play.
When I woke up at 3 AM and he wasn’t beside me and I didn’t know if he was ever coming back.
” She takes a shaky breath. “But then I’d see him with you and Luna.
See the way he looked at me across the dinner table. And I’d remember why I chose this.”
“I don’t have that. With Lochlan. I don’t love him.”
“Not yet.”
I slant her a sharp look. “Mom—”
“I’m not saying you will. I’m just saying… don’t close the door before you’ve walked through it.” She squeezes my hand. “He’s not his father. I watched him at the hospital. He seems different from the others.”
“Different doesn’t mean trustworthy.”
“No. It doesn’t.” She turns away to look at Dad and the tubes, the wires, and the machines keeping him alive. “But your father trusted him enough to sign that contract. For whatever that’s worth.”
“Right now? It’s not worth much.”
“I know.” She sighs. “I know.”
We sit together until the sun dips lower into the horizon and finally disappears. Until the room darkens and the only light comes from the monitors beside the bed.
“You should go home,” I say finally. “Get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be long and stressful.”
“So should you.”
“I will. I just want a few more minutes with him.”
She stands. Presses a kiss to my forehead. Then leans over and kisses Dad’s cheek, whispering something I can’t hear.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she says. “We’ll get through this. Together. The way we always do.”
“I know.”
She leaves, and the door clicks shut behind her.
I turn back to my father and take his hand in mine.
“I don’t know if you can hear me,” I say in a low voice. “But I need you to wake up. Not tomorrow because I know that’s not how this works. But soon. Please.”
The machines beep. He still doesn’t move. His eyelids don’t flutter.
“I’m getting married tomorrow. To a man I barely know. Because of a contract you signed without telling me.” My voice cracks. “I’m so angry at you. I’m so scared. And I really, really need my dad right now.”
Nothing.
I wipe my eyes and stand up, sniffling.
“I’ll come back after it’s done,” I say. “I’ll tell you how it went. Maybe yell at you some more.”
I lean down, grazing his forehead with my lips. “I love you, Dad. Even when I hate you.”
I walk out of the room without looking back.
Tomorrow, everything changes.