Emma Pierce watched as lanie’s expression changed and she extended her hand to hold hers. On the outside, her face looked as if she might cry but on the inside, she was scoffing at the naivety of the girl. Did she really think she could help her reconcile with Adam? Maybe she could, but whether that reconciliation worked in her favour or against her, it would be for Emma to decide.
As lanie held her hand, she grasped hers tightly, giving her a hopeful smile, as the girl started to talk "How touching... a mother longing for her son. If I didn’t know better, Mrs Pierce, I might almost believe every word. Almost. Still, I suppose the title of ’mother’ must an sothing to you, even if you chose not to wear it when it mattered most."
lanie’s eyes remained soft and her smile gently, but with each word aiming for Mrs Pierce like a sharp knife, it made the older woman’s expression more and more angry.
"But let us be clear. If I am to help you, there are conditions. First, you will not attempt to force Adam’s hand again, the way you did this ti by using as bait. No secret etings, no tricks, no emotional blackmail. If he agrees to see you, it will be because he chooses, not because you cornered him."
Her grip on Emma’s hand tightened just slightly, enough to underscore the warning as the woman tried to pull her hand away, before she continued.
"Second- you will not try to pull any tricks or try to set us against one another. Adam and I have no illusions between us. If you attempt to poison his ear with doubts, it will only reveal your own desperation, and you will lose whatever chance you hope for."
lanie gave a slow smile then as Emma paled. Dam* it! This woman was not as simple as she seed, "And third-you will wait. Adam decides if and when you are given that chance. If I open the door, you walk through it quietly. If he closes it, you do not push. These are my terms. Break them, and you’ll find yourself further from Adam than you’ve ever been."
Releasing Emma’s hand with a delicate flick, lanie leaned back and lifted her spoon again, her tone light, almost mocking in its casualness.
"So yes, Mrs Pierce, I’ll help you. But only on my terms. Now, if you don’t mind... I’d rather not let my soup get cold. And, would you mind telling when Adam is reaching here? I am quite worried about him, you know. With Marianne Thomas barely in the prison, I still feel jittery about everything. So, I hope you don’t decide to keep away from him, too long. I can assure you that if you go down that path, it will backfire."
But Emma was not one to back down so easily. She straightened in her chair, her lips tightening as if the words burned on her tongue, and then put on an affronted and hurt look. Pointing a finger at lanie, she burst out, "You misunderstand , lanie! You have no idea-absolutely no idea-what it was like back in those days. I was young, barely more than a girl myself, and suddenly I was expected to carry the weight of an entire household on my shoulders. Do you think it was simple? To balance duty, expectations, and a child? It was too much. Far too much for one person to bear."
Her voice wavered, and she took in a deep breath as if trying to control her tears, "Girls these days, you speak so easily about independence. You say that you can have anything, be anything, live however you want. But that freedom you enjoy did not fall from the sky. It was carved out of the sacrifices made by won like . Won who had to make impossible choices. Won who abandoned their children, not because they wanted to, but because they had no other way to move forward. We were the ones who walked away so that the path could open-for won like you to step out of the house without sha and without chains."
She drew in a sharp breath, her eyes flashing with both pride and bitterness.
"So don’t you dare sit there and judge as though I was selfish or careless. Everything I did, I did because the world gave no choice. You think you’re strong because you defy now? I was strong long before you were even born."
Her chest was heaving by the ti she finished, and for a mont Emma almost wanted to pat herself on the back for such a passionate speech. She had delivered it flawlessly, her voice rising and breaking in all the right places. Truly, if life had turned out differently, she might have taken up acting, she certainly had the talent for it.
But her pride lasted no more than a heartbeat. lanie looked up from her soup, her expression unreadable, and then brought her hands together in a slow, deliberate clap. The sound was soft, mocking, each strike of palm against palm stripping away Emma’s mont of triumph.
"Well said, Mrs. Pierce," lanie drawled, her lips curving into a thin smile. "Truly inspiring. On behalf of the entire female race, I thank you for being so very strong."
Emma’s nostrils flared at the mockery hidden in those words. Her chest tightened with fury, and though she tried to maintain her composure, the crack showed. With a sharp huff, she pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and walked out. The woman, lanie was truly infuriating.
Behind her, lanie’s lips curved into a satisfied smile. She didn’t bother to watch Emma leave. Instead, she lifted her spoon once more, and continued to sip her soup at a leisurely pace, as though nothing at all had happened.
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