“Afraid of what!?” he snapped.
“I was afraid that I would lose you. I was afraid you would find it all too much and you wouldn’t come back, or you would find her, and she would break your heart,” Adalia cried.
“So, you made the choice for me? What happened to not making choices for another person? You don’t get to decide my fate for me. You don’t get to control how I react. It’s my choice, Ada.”
“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to keep this from you and if I could do it over again, I would tell you straightaway, but please don’t leave because of it. Running away isn’t the answer.”
“What is the answer, then? Just forgive and move on? I know I’m difficult to love. I know I don’t deserve any of this.” He spread his arms wide. “But I deserve to at least know my mother exists.”
Adalia took another step and reached for his face, cradling it in her hands. “Don’t…never say that. Loving you is like breathing.”
Adalia brought his forehead down to hers and stood close to his chest. “You deserve all of this and more. I am truly sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please stay. Get to know Hadassah. I promise I will give you all the space you need.”
The tension left Matthias’s body and Adalia felt him soften under her touch.
“Don’t keep secrets from me,” he whispered. “I have to trust you, Ada. I have to.” His eyes watered.
“No more secrets, I promise,” Adalia whispered her reply as she pulled him into her body in a warm embrace.
They stood like this for a few moments before Adalia pulled back. “Do you want to go back to the beach? I’m sure Nikolas is still there with Hadassah. Or do you want to make another time to see her?”
The prince shrugged. “I don’t really know what to do. I never thought I would ever know my mother and now that I have the opportunity, I’m lost. How did she even know it was me?”
Adalia turned Matthias slightly and brushed the hair from behind his right ear. “The king told her she’d find us together,” Adalia said, chest warming inexplicably. “Plus, your birthmark is unique. It looks like a sun.”
Matthias reached up and brushed his fingers over it. “You think she recognised it?”
“It seems like the detail a mother would cling to.” Adalia squeezed his hands. “A good one, anyway. And she seemed . . .”
Matthias’s voice was faint, like he was afraid to speak the words aloud. “She seemed . . . like she missed me.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The truth
Hadassah’s home was small, but welcoming.
As Matthias stepped through the front door, the scent of freshly baked bread greeted him. A bunch of bright-yellow daffodils sat in a blue vase on the kitchen table. Their scent, mingling with the bread, caused Matthias to instantly feel at ease.
After he and Adalia had gone back to the beach, they’d found Nikolas consoling an upset Hadassah. She’d been so worried that Matthias may not come back or may not even believe she was his mother. Some reassuring words from Matthias and Adalia calmed her, and they made a plan for the prince to visit her the next day.
Entering her house made Matthias feel at home, just by the smells and décor. It reminded him of his cabin in the woods, but with a by-the-seaside feel to it, and even though he was nervous to see her again, he didn’t let it show.
“Please, have a seat.” Hadassah motioned to a chair by the kitchen table.
The prince sat and his mother busied herself in the kitchen, making them both tea. She placed the hot beverage in front of himbefore returning to the counter to collect the plate of freshly made scones covered in melted butter, raspberry jam, and fresh cream.
“I know this must be so hard for you.” Hadassah quietly spoke after she’d sat in the chair opposite Matthias.
“As I’m sure it is for you, too,” Matthias replied.
The two sat in silence for a moment, sipping their tea.
“Will you tell me what happened?” Matthias asked as he reached for a scone.
His mother cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I will tell you all that I can, but before I begin, has your father told you anything?”
“I know nothing. Anytime I asked about you as a child, I was beaten or silenced.”
