“Sit,” she said.
“I’m fine,” he slurred.
“Seth, I’ll hurt myself trying to catch you if you fall.”
That clicked something in his head. Seth didn’t want her to get hurt.
Sitting, he bent his legs and pulled them into his chest, resting his face against his knees.
Adria was there, pressing her breasts and chest into his back. Her legs coming along his sides.
A shuddered breath moved through him, and Seth felt fresh tears forming.
A wave of emotions flooded into him, and he felt his breath hitch as a sob escaped him.
Adria didn’t say anything. She didn’t say he was okay, didn’t shush him. Seth only felt her face lean into his neck, and she breathed with him.
Holding him while he cried on the shower floor.
CHAPTER 49
CURITIBA PARANÁ
Bryson watched as Seth left the table, and shortly after, Adria excused herself. That left him, Kaydon, Eric, and Sophia alone together.
Thanks a lot, Seth.
“So, Bryson, what was it like growing up a Winters?” Sophia asked, her voice innocent.
Bryson finished bringing his fork into his mouth. Needing a minute to decide what he was going to say.
He brought his eyes to meet Sophia’s, chewing deliberately, studying her face. She was smart, hungry, and most certainly not to be trusted. No amount of arguing from Kaydon or Adria’s feelings could change that.
It wasn’t something to be argued. And it wasn’t a matter of opinion; it was just the truth.
“It was okay. My mother died when I was thirteen,” he said, wiping his face with a napkin. “Likeactuallydied, along with my older brother Luca.”
“Bryson,” Kaydon whispered under his breath.
Sophia’s eyes glinted across the dinner table. “I suppose our story must seem a little silly to you. But I assure you, I didn’tforce Ivan to host a funeral or to pretend to bury me. He did that all on his own.”
“You have a very nice situation here now, though, right?” Bryson asked, forcing his voice to sound just as cordial as hers.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Xander has been very good to me.”
“And how long have you been here, exactly?” Bryson shot at her.
Eric coughed into his plate, before shooting Bryson a look and saying, “The food here is delicious ma’am.” Eric looked back to Sophia before continuing, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve tasted such full flavors.”
Suck up.
Was no one going to acknowledge the fact that Adria’s mom had pretended to be in the Triune’s clutches for how long?
Made Adria worry about her night after night. Made her risk her life for her.
Were they all just going to ignore it?
If they were, Bryson sure as hell wasn’t going to play along.
