Page 16 of Liberating Water

Hudson

I’d never beenin my mother’s office before, and I wasn’t surprised to see it was all white and completely modern looking. Her need to have perfect control over everything wouldn’t allow her to have much self-expression in such a setting. This was the corner office of a powerful CEO, and the woman behind the desk lived up to that description.

“Why are you here, Hudson? I thought we discussed you not being in the office during business hours,” Isabelle demanded.

I could feel Lailah tensing behind me at how Mother was addressing me, but I couldn’t let her blow up at my mother like she did Sophie. Mother would tear her apart. It was a special gift that she had, finding your weakness and exploiting it. Typically she reserved that skill for business transactions and her children, but I wouldn’t put it past her to lash out at Lailah because she was mad at me.

“Mother, it would seem that there wasn’t as much to do in the labs as we thought. What we need now is access to employee files,” I stated, keeping to the facts.

Mother narrowed her eyes at me. “That still does not answer the question of why you are in my office at this moment. Sophie should have been able to get you any information you needed.”

Lailah, ignoring the way I tried to pull her back, shook off my hand. “Ms. Dupont, I am sorry we are intruding, but we did ask Sophie first for the things we needed, and she said you would have to give clearance for the number of files we need and permission to work on this off-site. We know you don’t want us to disrupt things, so we thought working at the house would be best.”

Mother slowly stood and walked around her desk, approaching Lailah. To Lailah’s credit, she didn’t back down—she never did when she was protecting one of us.

“I know who you are, Synergy. Tu putes is more like it, sleeping with all these boys like there is nothing wrong with it. If Hudson was truly my son, I would have never allowed him to attach himself to the likes of you,” Mother sniffed, crossing her arms and looking down at her.

You didn’t have to know French to know that my Mother just used some sort of derogatory term at Lailah. Watching Lailah carefully, I saw the hurt flash in her eyes before she covered it up, trying to keep a blank face. I had grown up most of my life dealing with this woman, used to her venomous tongue, but Lailah didn’t deserve to be talked to like that at all.

“That is enough, Mother,” I snapped, pulling Lailah behind me. “I do not care what your personal opinions are, but you will show some respect to her as someone I treasure. Now, will you give us the files we need so we can work at home, or do I need to bring this to the board’s attention?”

Mother held my gaze, checking to see if I was bluffing or not, but I wasn’t backing down from this. “Stupide garçon, you would let this woman ruin everything you have worked for? These Elementi are taking everything from you and your father. Don’t you see it? Already you cannot live a normal life with the powers you have, now you let them tell you who to love?” Shaking her head, she waved us off. “Take what you need, but I don’t want to see you back in this building during business hours, no matter who calls to try and overrule my authority. I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”

“Have it your way, Ms. Dupont. We won’t bother you any further,” I said coldly.

All my life I’d been trying to gain her favor, but it was becoming clear to me now that she was never going to give it to me. I wasn’t a son to her, for all she let me call her “Mother.” That was going to change now. No longer was I going to cling to a childish fantasy when I could build a new family that wanted me around.

Lailah took my hand, intertwining our fingers as we walked out of the office without a backward glance.

* * *

Armedwith the information we needed on a thumb drive and a few tablets, we headed back to the house. I wanted to distance myself from the lab and my parents after everything we had learned today. It was late afternoon once we exited the building.

“What if we went out for lunch? It might do us good to have a little break before we dive into these files,” Lailah suggested.

“Yeah, I like that idea! This is supposed to be Christmas break, and we’ve hardly done anything fun,” Parker whined.

Looking at the others, I raised a brow. “Everyone else okay with that?”

“If it means stalling looking at paperwork for however long, then hell yes, please. Let’s go do anything,” Micah agreed.

“Alright, I’ll have the driver take us into town and we’ll go find something that looks good to us,” I said, turning to the driver and letting him know the change in destination.

Shortly after, we found ourselves walking through Old Town, where the buildings were packed together, forcing you to walk or bike through this part of the city. Shops spilled out of their stores onto the cobblestone alleys. Cafes with their doors open, tables scattered with people drinking and eating lined the street. This was the heart of the city that brought the magic to this place.

I couldn’t keep the smile off my lips as I watched Lailah take it all in. Her love of architecture and history was showing full force. Parker joined in her fun, grabbing odd hats and other things off the vendors’ tables and trying them on, making her laugh. Brayden grinned like a fool, no doubt being flooded with her emotions and energy, and even Micah and Jay seemed to be enjoying themselves. Eventually, we all decided to eat at a small cafe that had a good view of the beach and the sea.

“Guys, I have no idea what half this stuff is on the menu.” Lailah sighed, looking at me for help. “Hudson, could you just order something for me?”

My heart warmed at the fact that she trusted me to make that choice for her, knowing she wouldn’t understand me as I ordered. “I would be happy to. Anything you hate or are allergic to?”

“I don’t care for olives or mushrooms, but I’m not allergic to anything,” she answered with a grateful smile.

Parker elbowed me as he leaned closer. “Any chance you can help a bro out and tell me if they have pizza?”

“You want to order pizza in France?” Micah asked in disbelief. “Do you have any culture to you at all?”

Parker leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “What the fuck, man? Why’d you have to go and announce it to the whole table? I was trying to be discreet.”