11. Dont be a terrible father
Adrian’s Pov:
I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.
The room was dark.
For a second, I didn’t understand what had woken me.
Then I saw my phone on the bedside table.
The screen was lit.
I reached for it and froze.
4 missed calls from Lily.
10 missed calls from James.
My stomach dropped.
I sat upright instantly.
Vanessa was asleep beside me, completely unaware.
I didn’t waste a second.
I grabbed my clothes, dressed as fast as I could, snatched my car keys, and dialed James while rushing out of the apartment.
He answered after a few rings, his voice thick with sleep.
“Hello?”
“What happened?” I asked sharply as I headed toward the elevator. “Is Lily okay?”
James sounded startled.
“Yes, sir—she’s alright now.”
I stopped for half a second.
“What happened?”
“She was crying, sir,” he explained. “She refused to sleep. I called you several times.”
Guilt hit me instantly.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.
“How is she now?”
There was a pause.
Then James said,
“She’s fine now, sir. Mrs. Whitmore came back. She’s with Miss Lily right now.”
I froze.
“Sophia came back?”
“Yes, sir.”
Relief and confusion hit at the same time.
I ended the call and drove home as fast as I could.
The whole drive, one thought kept repeating in my mind:
How could I be this careless?
Lily had needed me.
And I wasn’t there.
---
When I reached the mansion, I saw a familiar car parked outside.
June’s car.
Sophia really was here.
I unlocked the front door and headed upstairs immediately.
The house was silent.
When I reached Lily’s room, I opened the door slowly.
The sight inside made me stop.
Lily was sleeping peacefully in bed.
Sophia was beside her, half sitting, half leaning against the headboard, asleep in the same position she must have been in while comforting Lily.
Lily’s small hand was still holding onto Sophia’s dress.
I stood there, unable to move for a moment.
Then my eyes shifted to Sophia.
And I realized something was different.
Her hair was loose, falling softly over her shoulders.
She almost always tied it up at home.
Her makeup was still there, though slightly faded.
Soft lipstick.
Smudged eyeliner.
And she was wearing a fitted black dress.
Not the simple loose gowns she usually wore around the house.
Not the quiet, invisible clothes I had grown used to seeing her in.
She looked...
different.
No—
not different.
She looked like the woman she had been before this marriage.
For a moment, I just stared.
I had never seen her like this.
She looked beautiful.
The thought came so suddenly that it caught me off guard.
My gaze shifted to Lily.
Her cheeks were still blotchy from crying.
There was a faint lipstick mark on one cheek—probably from Sophia kissing her while trying to calm her down.
My chest tightened.
Lily had cried herself to sleep.
Because I wasn’t there.
And Sophia—
even after leaving—
had come back the moment Lily needed her.
The guilt was sharp.
I stepped quietly to the other side of the bed and looked at Lily’s sleeping face.
She looked peaceful now.
Safe.
I exhaled slowly.
Then I turned to leave—
but the movement must have disturbed Sophia.
She shifted and opened her eyes.
For a second, she looked disoriented.
Then she saw me.
The softness in her face disappeared instantly.
Her expression turned cold.
She carefully moved Lily’s hand off her dress, stood up, and without saying a word pointed toward the door.
She wanted me outside.
I nodded silently and stepped out into the hallway.
A few seconds later, she came out behind me and gently closed Lily’s bedroom door.
Now we stood facing each other in the dim hallway.
Neither of us spoke immediately.
I looked at her.
Up close, the differences were even clearer.
The loose hair.
The dress.
The confidence in the way she stood.
She didn’t look like the Sophia who had cried in front of me days ago.
She looked distant.
Untouchable.
And somehow that unsettled me more than her tears ever had.
Finally, she spoke.
Her voice was low, controlled.
“Where were you?”
The question should have been simple.
But I found myself unable to answer immediately.
She crossed her arms.
“James called you over ten times.”
I looked away briefly.
Her jaw tightened.
“You forgot Lily?”
There was disbelief in her voice.
And disappointment.
I exhaled.
“She’s okay now.”
Sophia gave a short bitter laugh.
“She’s okay because I came.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
She stepped closer.
“She was crying for hours, Adrian.”
I stayed silent.
Her eyes filled with anger.
“She kept asking for her father.”
I clenched my jaw.
Sophia’s voice sharpened.
“And where were you?”
I had no answer that didn’t sound terrible.
Because the truth was—
I had been with Vanessa.
While my daughter cried herself sick.
Sophia stared at me for a long moment.
Then she shook her head.
And the next words she spoke were calm—but far colder than anger.
“You can be a terrible husband, Adrian.”
She paused.
“But don’t be a terrible father.”