lody was in a bad mood. And she had no one to bla but herself. She hadn’t needed to pick a fight with lanie, but frustration had gotten the better of her. It had been over a week since she had seen him, and the growing silence had gnawed at her. So, she had finally decided to approach lanie about Adam’s presence in Adir’s life.
But who could have predicted that the usually cheerful, even-tempered woman would snap? With a cold glare and an unusually sharp tone, lanie had told her to mind her own business.
And the worst part? She had been absolutely right. According to the rules laid down by the school, lody wasn’t even supposed to ask. It was, without question, considered overstepping.
Now, sitting with that uncomfortable truth and the sting of rejection, lody couldn’t help but stew in her own regret as she walked to her mother’s place. And now, she was going to be stuck with mother’s inquisiton about Adam.
Maybe she should just hire an actor to pretend to be Adam. Soone charming enough to convince her mother at first glance, but who would gradually show himself to be a jerk that any mother would imdiately disapprove of. Then, after a dramatic confrontation or two, she could stage a tearful breakup. Maybe even cry a little. That would put an end to the questions and the pressure once and for all. Atleast for so ti.
As she slowed down, she nodded to herself. This plan wasn’t perfect, but it was starting to sound more appealing than continuing this lie..
With a sigh, she made a ntal note to start looking for an actor.
For now, she had to get through this visit. She adjusted her expression and stepped into her mother’s house...only to stop short.
The place was entirely empty. Forget that there was no servant waiting on her but that... there was nothing. Not even any furniture.
She frowned. Had she co to the wrong house?
No. This was definitely the right place.
"Mom?" she called out, raising her voice just slightly as she moved further inside.
No answer... As she walked toward her mother’s study, lody glanced around the house again. It still felt strange. Empty walls, empty rooms... nothing like how it used to be. But when she opened the door to the study, she finally let out a breath of relief.At least this room looked the sa.
"I’m in here," her mother called out from behind one of the shelves. "Sit down, I’ll be out in a minute."
lody dropped into a chair. "I was starting to worry. Why is the whole house empty? Are you moving?"
Marianne Thomas peeked out from behind the shelf. "No, nothing like that. I gave everything away. I’m going to refurnish."
lody blinked. "You gave everything away?"
She nodded and disappeared again behind the shelf. "Yes. It was ti for a change."
lody stared at the doorway. "You? Refurnish? Seriously? I thought you hated doing anything like that. You wouldn’t even let move the coffee table once."
Marianne laughed. "I still think that table was in the perfect spot."
"That’s what I’m saying!" lody said, shaking her head. "So what’s changed?"
Her mother ca out, wiping her hands. "I just feel like the house needed a new start. Also, before you offer to help, I’ll do it on my own."
lody shook her head and wondered what the hell was going on. Her mother who did not like to stay in one place was now insisting on living here. She hated change and yet, here she was changing the entire house...and that too without any help from her.
"Are you dying?" Marianne asked worriedly which had a Marianne look up in shock and shake her head, " Of course not. What is going on in your head girl?"
While lody still stared at her mother worriedly, the woman shook her head and said, "The housekeeper is on leave today. Tell what do you want. I’ll get coffee for you?"
"I don’t want..."
Before lody could say no... her mother was already out of the door, calling out that she was going to get so coffee.
lody shook her head and plopped herself down on the chair. If Marianne Thomas said that she wanted to get them a coffee...they were getting a coffee.
lody leaned back in the chair, still trying to wrap her head around the sudden change in her mother. Marianne Thomas, who had once thrown a fit over soone rearranging her bookshelf, was now talking about giving away every piece of furniture and starting fresh? It didn’t make sense.
She glanced around the study again, half expecting to find sothing else out of place. That’s when her eyes landed on a folder sitting right on top of a stack near the edge of the desk. The label on the front read LuxeArt.
Curious, she picked it up and opened it.
It was a catalogue. High-end furniture and art pieces. lody flipped through the pages slowly, impressed with the design and detail. The furniture actually looked... good. Not her mother’s usual taste at all, but modern, tasteful, and surprisingly warm for sothing so clean cut.
Maybe this was where her mother planned to buy everything from. Well, it was good.
As she neared the last few pages, a familiar na caught her eye.
There it was, printed in bold at the end of the catalogue, owned by lanieCollins.
lody’s face froze. Seriously? Her?
She was just about to toss the folder back onto the desk in irritation at the na when her eyes caught another file lying flat under the corner of the desk lamp. This one had a neat label on the front that read- lanieCollins
lody blinked.
Wait... what?
Why did her mother have that file? Had she been in touch with her?
She hesitated, then slowly reached out for the file, her earlier irritation now mixing with suspicion as she opened it and checked the contents of the file.
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