"Anyway, once Grandma realized that Robert Collins would never change his ways, she decided to take a different approach. Instead of continuing to shield , she made the painful choice to cast out and turn her back on . At the ti, it felt like betrayal, but in hindsight, it was the very thing that saved . Because by doing so, she convinced Robert Collins that I was no longer a part of their lives—that I was out for good. And that gave the chance to disappear, to build sothing for myself without constantly looking over my shoulder.
Adam let out a heavy sigh before eting her gaze. "Grandmother never told why she did it, so at the ti, I only felt abandoned. Once I was thrown out, I had no choice but to fend for myself, and I beca determined to carve out my own path, on my own terms. But the mont I had the ans, I made sure to keep an eye on three particular people from the Collins family. As you saw, I've managed to gather solid evidence against Spencer and Madam Collins. The only one who has never left a single trace behind—the only one who has remained untouchable—is my dear grandfather."
"Did you keep an eye on too? Or look into my background?"
Even though she knew she shouldn't be bothered, the possibility that he might have dug into her past unsettled her. She had worked too hard to bury it—to erase the traces of the past. In this mont, she realized there were still a lot of similarities in their life. The only difference was that her grandmother had broken all ties with everyone in the family to protect her while Adam's grandmother had done the other way round.
But Adam simply shook his head and t her gaze. "No. I never looked into you. I've never seen you as an enemy, lanie. I'll admit, I intended to use you in my plans, but that only makes just as bad as Robert Collins—soone who manipulates people and discards them when they're no longer useful. So, you can relax. I won't give you another chance to be angry at ."
lanie nodded and looked at the crooked smile he sent her way. Suddenly, she felt bad for him. She could tell there was more he wasn't saying. If he'd been cast out, there was no way Robert Collins had made life easy for him.
Without a word, she stood up close to him and hugged him. Simply to comfort the man.
Adam stiffened at the unexpected hug.. For a mont, he just stood there, arms at his sides, as if the concept of being comforted was entirely foreign to him. Even his grandmother, the only maternal figure he'd known, had never hugged him. Then, slowly, he exhaled, his body relaxing just a little. Well, he didn't really mind being hugged like this, and with a small smile hugged her back.
lanie wasn't sure why she did it—maybe because she understood and wanted to offer sothing to comfort him. After all, he had supported her... Either way, she didn't move away, simply letting the mont settle between them even as he hugged her back with enough crush to almost rush the breath out of her.
And then, just as she was beginning to think he might actually appreciate the gesture and if she shoudl say sothing to comfort him, Adam's voice rumbled near her ear.
"Careful, lanie. If you keep hugging like this, I might start thinking you actually like ."
She scoffed and pulled back, only for him to smirk down at her, eyes gleaming with amusent. In that mont, she realized that while Adam had accepted her gesture to give him comfort, if he felt that she pitied him, he would simply cut her off.
So, understanding his attempt to get rid of the depressing atmosphere, she rolled her eyes at him and said," Like you? Maybe when there is a hailstorm in hell."
However, he seed to be back in his elent and wagged his giner at hewr," Tsk tsk. Don't try to cover up. If it starts a hailstorm in hell, the devil will co out to us! Now, I see the truth. You're already smitten."
lanie rolled her eyes, shoving at his shoulder. "Please. I was just feeling sorry for you."
Adam caught her wrist before she could pull away completely, his smirk softening into sothing far more dangerous as his smile evaporated and he pulled her back to him. "That's even worse, you know. You pity ?" He tsked. "I think I liked it better when you were mad at ."
"Trust , I am sure you can arrange that," she shot back, ignoring the way her pulse kicked up when his fingers lingered just a second too long before releasing her and she turned back, ready to move away from him.
"Hey! Where are you running away? Co here and keep hugging . Maybe throw in a kiss as well."
She huffed a laugh and shook her head, even as he raised his arms and ca close to her, intending to hug her... Laughing, she jumped out of the way and moveing behind him, pushed him onto the bed, and said," Let the bed hug you!"
Adam flipped over and lay back on the bed, still grinning, "Ah, it seems I'll have to work even harder to make you fall for my charms. Challenge accepted, lanie."
She gave him a long look before turning away, ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks. "You're impossible."
"And yet, you still hugged ," he called after her, smugness laced in every word.
lanie refused to look back. If she did, she knew he'd still be smiling. And worse, she would be too.
With a sigh, she concentrated on getting ready. Now that Peter had taken such a step, she knew the best way to move forward and use this montum to LuxeArt's advantage. The only problem before that was to handle the person who had revealed her plans.
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