“Oh, they’ve been filling your ears with gossip, haven’t they?”
“How can it be gossip when there’s proof? And the people talking about it are the ones most deeply affected by your decision?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Jill said, a haughty tone in her voice. “It was hard to look at Annie after I lost you. She was a constant reminder of what had been taken from us.”
“But Annie needed her mother,” Angela said. “And besides, you weren’t the only one I was taken from. Duncan still looked Annie in the face every day and loved her. He did what he could to make her feel safe and protected.”
“It’s different as a mother,” Jill said, her voice tight. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“It’s sad to think that I had a better relationship with the woman who kidnapped me—who I considered a mom—than Annie had with her mother.”
Jude’s eyebrows rose as he listened to Angela speak to Jill. He had no idea where she had found the courage to say what Jill needed to hear, but he was glad she was doing it. It was too bad he hadn’t recorded the meeting because Duncan would have loved to hear Angela stand up for herself and for Annie.
He glanced at Julian to see how he was taking everything. It looked like he wasn’t paying attention to anything. He seemed to have checked out, slumped in his chair, staring at the fire in the fireplace.
“I’m not sure why you’re talking to me like this,” Jill said. “I did the best I could considering the circumstances.”
Angela didn’t look like she was buying that explanation any more than Jude did.
“I understand it was a difficult time,” Angela said. “None of it was easy for any of us. But it makes me sad that because I was kidnapped, Annie was robbed of having a loving mother in her life. She didn’t deserve to be punished because she was the one the kidnappers returned.”
“I see how this is,” Jill said as she got to her feet. “You’ve let Annie poison your mind against me. Julian. Let’s go.”
Julian looked up at his mother, gave a sigh, then pushed up to his feet.
Turning to Angela, he said, “I’ll see you back at Dad’s later.”
Jude tracked the man’s progress as he followed his mother out of the room.
That had… not gone as he’d thought it would. He’d been sure that Jill would walk all over Angela, and she had, to some extent. But then Angela had stood up for herself and Annie, and Jude was so proud of her.
“I didn’t plan to talk to her about that,” Angela said when Jude took the seat Jill had vacated.
“I think it was necessary,” he said. “Julian has probably never talked honestly to her about it, and Annie has refused to have any communication with her. Perhaps it was time for someone to hold her accountable for what she did.”
Angela bent her head and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Jude wanted to go to her and physically comfort her, not just use his words.
In the end, it was Kiara who slipped her arm around Angela. “You did a good thing, Angie. Don’t second-guess what you said. I know you’re going to, but don’t.”
Angela looked up and met Jude’s gaze. “Is Duncan going to be upset with me?”
Jude couldn’t keep his chuckle inside. “Oh, he definitely won’t be. In fact, I think he’ll congratulate you on it.”
“And Julian?”
“He didn’t speak up to defend his mom, so he knows that you only spoke the truth.” Jude hesitated, then said, “I’m actually really proud of you for standing up for yourself and for Annie. You did great.”
Angela’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “You’re proud of me?”
Jude knew he probably should pull back, but the reality was that he’d told her the truth. Hewasproud of her.
He hoped that she could continue to take a stand for herself and others, like she had for Annie.
“Ready to go home?” he asked.
“Yes, definitely.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
