Anna did not react to Roseline’s expression.
She pulled out the chair and sat down across from her, her movents calm and controlled, as if she were sitting across from a stranger rather than the woman who had given birth to her.
"I might have agreed to et you because you begged , Mom," Anna said evenly. "But don’t make regret my decision."
Roseline’s lips twitched, the faintest crack in the composed mask she had prepared for this mont. Still, she forced a smile and slowly lowered herself into the chair opposite Anna.
"I didn’t know you would truly cut ties with us, Anna," Roseline said softly. "But seeing you after so long... it makes rember my daughter."
Her voice carried emotion, and for once, it was not entirely fabricated.
Roseline might be many things. Cunning. Selfish. Ruthless when cornered.
But there had been a ti when her love for Anna was real.
Anna did not respond.
Instead, her attention shifted subtly, her eyes flickering toward the man standing in the corner of the café before returning to Roseline. She was careful not to make it obvious. Careful not to alert her mother.
She was watching.
Observing.
Making sure Roseline had co alone.
Because if Collin was nearby, if he had followed her here, then this eting was not as innocent as it appeared.
And Anna was not sure she was ready for that confrontation.
"Anyways," Roseline continued, trying to fill the silence, "how are you? And... thank you for eting your mother."
Anna leaned back slightly in her chair, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp.
"Is that all you have to say," she asked calmly, "or is there sothing else?"
Roseline let out a small chuckle, though it lacked warmth.
Her daughter had changed.
The softness Anna once carried was gone, replaced by sothing colder. Stronger. Soone who no longer sought her approval.
Roseline could not help but bla Daniel.
He had entered Anna’s life and changed everything. He had given her protection, stability, and a truth Roseline could not control. He had pulled Anna out of her reach, and now Anna looked at her not with dependence, but with suspicion.
Roseline did not know how much Daniel had told her.
And that uncertainty was dangerous.
"I thought you would co that day when Hugo was hospitalized," Roseline said quietly. "But you didn’t. And that made think."
She paused, lowering her gaze.
"It made realize how badly I ruined our relationship."
Anna’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Was our relationship strong enough for you to ruin it?" Anna asked bluntly. "Because as far as I rember, you never really cared. You just kept building your life on lies."
The words landed without rcy.
Roseline’s smile faltered.
Her fingers curled slightly against her lap, her nails pressing into her palms hard enough to hurt. The pain grounded her, kept her expression steady.
"I know," Roseline said softly. "Despite being there, I was never truly there for you."
She lifted her head, her eyes shimring with tears.
"I failed you. Not just as a mother, but as a human being."
Anna said nothing.
She watched her carefully.
Her mother had always been good at this.
The tears. The trembling voice. The carefully chosen words.
Anyone else would have believed her without question.
"But if you knew what made take those steps," Roseline continued, her voice breaking slightly, "would you still think I was selfish?"
Anna’s expression did not change.
She studied her mother closely, searching for cracks in the performance.
She already knew part of the truth.
She knew about Collin. She knew about the charges that had detained him for years. She knew there had been cris, betrayal, and consequences.
"And what exactly made you do that?" Anna asked quietly.
Roseline hesitated.
For a brief mont, her tears stopped, replaced by sothing else.
Fear.
Because this was the mont she had been preparing for.
This was where the truth could either save her...
Or destroy everything.
She looked at Anna, really looked at her, and realized how much she had grown. How much distance had ford between them.
Roseline had co here with a purpose.
Not just to see her daughter.
But to protect herself.
To control the narrative before soone else did.
"You think I did everything for myself," Roseline said softly. "But that’s not entirely true." Her voice lowered, becoming more fragile.
But she also knew that was not the whole story.
There were gaps.
Pieces that did not fit.
"I did everything for you," Roseline said, her voice trembling as she held Anna’s gaze. "Because if I hadn’t run away that day... Collin would have killed you."
Anna’s expression stiffened, but she did not interrupt.
Roseline swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the edge of the table as if the mory itself still had the power to hurt her.
"He had a knife," she continued, her voice dropping into a whisper. "He held it against your throat. You were so small... so helpless. And he didn’t even hesitate."
Anna’s breath caught, though she refused to let her emotions show openly.
Roseline’s eyes filled with tears, this ti heavier, burdened with mories she could never fully erase.
"He told if I didn’t pay the debt he owed, he would kill you in front of ," Roseline said. "He said your life was worth nothing compared to what he had lost."
For a mont, Roseline could not continue. Her lips trembled, and she lowered her gaze, as if ashad of what she was about to reveal.
"You were crying," she whispered. "You didn’t even understand what was happening. You just kept calling for ."
Anna felt her chest tighten.
She had no mory of that day. She had been too young, barely a year old, too fragile to understand the danger she had been in. There were no images in her mind, no sounds she could recall, no fear she could relive.
And yet, hearing it now made her stomach twist.
The thought of a man holding a knife to her throat, threatening her life without hesitation, filled her with a quiet, growing anger. Not fear. Not sadness.
Hatred.
Collin had never been a father to her. Not in the ways that mattered.
And now, he never could be.
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