“It’s a waste of time,” Jill told him. “But I suppose it’s her time to waste.”
Angela shifted on the loveseat, and Kiara reached over and took her hand. Jude could see the tension in Angela's shoulders, the way she was holding herself rigid, like she was bracing for more criticism.
"Learning to drive has been wonderful for us," Kiara said, her voice steady but with an edge that Jude recognized. "And Angela is doing really well at it."
"Oh, I'm sure she is," Jill said, though her tone suggested otherwise. “But I still don’t understand why you need to learn to drive.”
"Because I want to," Angela said, her voice gaining strength. "I want to be able to go places on my own."
“Oh, darling, you’re never going anywhere on your own ever again,” Jill said with a laugh, then gestured to where Jude stood. “Even a visit like this, and you have a shadow. I hope you don’t plan to get a job because you’ll have a shadow there too.”
"I'm still figuring out if I’m going to get a job," Angela said quietly.
"Well, you don't need to work. Duncan has plenty of money. Though I suppose you could do something charitable. Maybevolunteer at a well-known charity or something suitable for someone of your position."
Angela's brow furrowed. "My position?"
"As Duncan Burke's daughter, darling. You have a certain status to maintain now." Jill's smile was bright but somehow cold. "You'll need to learn how to dress appropriately, how to speak to the right people, how to carry yourself. It's all quite important."
Jude saw Angela's face pale slightly, and he had to fight the urge to interrupt. This wasn't going well at all.
“No one knows who I am to have those sorts of expectations of me.”
“Surely now that you’re back, Duncan would be more willing to let everyone know who you and Annie are.”
“He hasn’t decided yet,” Angela said. “We’re just taking things one step at a time.”
“Probably a good idea so that you can be prepared to face the world. It’s very different from what you’re used to.”
"I think Angela dresses and acts beautifully," Kiara said firmly.
Jill's gaze shifted to Kiara, and her expression cooled. "That's sweet of you to say, my dear. But you wouldn't really know, would you? Coming from where you both did."
The room fell silent. Julian set down his coffee mug with a thud on the end table next to him, and Jude felt his jaw tighten. He'd heard enough.
"Angela," he said quietly.
She looked up at him, staring for a moment before giving a subtle shake of her head. Jude wanted to insist, but it was Angela’s choice.
And her determination to push through challenging stuff was one of the things he loved about her. So he just gave her a nod and stayed where he was.
“Oh wow, Jude,” Jill said, angling a smirk at him. “I guess you don’t have all that much power, do you?”
Jude kept his mouth shut. His instruction had been for it to be Angela’s call to end the meeting unless absolutely necessary for him to step in.
It was hard though, and he wished he understood why Jill seemed determined to torpedo a potential relationship with Angela. It was the wildest thing.
Jill had always been a bit pretentious, but this was a lot, even from her. It appeared that even though the years had left her physically untouched, her personality had taken a nosedive.
“I realize you can’t do anything about where you grew up, Angela,” Jill said. “But you need to accept that things are done differently in this world.”
As he stood there, Jude sent up a prayer, asking God for His peace and wisdom for everyone involved in the situation. He didn’t think Angela would benefit from having Jill in her life, but it wasn’t his decision.
“Why didn’t you want Annie?” Angela asked.
Jill’s posture straightened even further, her shoulders pulling back as she lifted her chin. “Of course I wanted Annie.”
“Then why didn’t you want visitation with her like you had with Julian?”
