“And?”
“He said no fucking way, and then swore he’d fight me for Millie and he’d fight dirty.”
“How dirty?” I ask, unsurprised by Geoffroy’s threat.
Her voice is flat. “If I left, I’d never see her again.”
A muscle ticks in my jaw. “Son of a?—”
“So, I decided to wait until she turned eighteen,” she cuts in. “Then I’d leave. Rebuild whatever was left of my life.”
“Four more years, huh?”
She nods. “I was at three years, eight months, and twenty-two days when he died.”
“Eva…” I begin.
She shakes her head, refusing comfort, and I respect that. Still, I slide a hand over hers. She doesn’t pull away. Instead, herfingers curl into mine. We sit like that for a while, coffee cooling between us, my mind churning.
Could it be that she’s starting to see I’m not the enemy?
20
ALEX
Millie’s still finishing hermoules marinièrewhen she announces she’s heading to Aymon to see a movie with her friends.
“I’ll drive you,” Eva says immediately.
Millie shoots her a look. “It’s a ten-minute walk in broad daylight to the bus stop where I’m meeting my friends. I have my phone. I’ll be fine.”
Eva opens her mouth, but I slide my hand under the table and give her knee a quick press. Not hard—just enough to say,Let her go.
She exhales. “All right.”
Millie beams as if she won a diplomatic coup.
“Text your mom when you get there,” I say.
She nods. “Deal.”
“Will you be home by dinnertime?” Eva asks.
“Yes!” She’s gone a minute later, delighted with her slice of independence.
Eva watches the door, a faint crease between her brows. I lift my hand from her knee before she overthinks it.
“Thank you, Stéphanie,” Eva says to the cook as we stand.
“Delicious as always,” I add.
We leave the dining room together, walking side by side toward the corridor.
“You know—” I begin.
“I was thinking about—” she starts at the same time.
I blink at her. “Go ahead.”
