Chapter 69 The Real Him
ADRIANA
Leo was back on his feet, so we spent the entire day playing together. He was the one who woke me up this morning, bouncing on my bed with endless energy, and I was so surprised and delighted that I didn’t think twice before jumping out of bed to join him.
We had breakfast together in the dining hall, and then I went to freshen up before returning to his room so we could start our day properly together.
My mind kept drifting to whether Elijah would walk in and find me with Leo. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was overstepping somehow.
I decided to push those thoughts aside and just focus on enjoying my time with Leo.
It felt wonderful to see him running around again. The doctor had ordered bed rest so his surgery scars could heal properly, and seeing him confined to bed had broken my heart.
He was such a strong boy that in no time at all, he was fully healed and ready to run around again. Whenever I looked at him, this warm feeling spread through my chest and I was filled with such happiness.
The door opened and my heart dropped instantly, thinking it was Elijah returning.
Thankfully, it was just the maid who had come to bathe him and prepare him for bedtime.
Leo left with her and it gave me time to think. What was I going to do? Was this how things would be from now on? Me constantly avoiding Elijah?
It was unbearable and I couldn’t even walk freely through the house without looking over my shoulder, wondering if he was watching me or nearby, ready to scold me for something.
Just because he hadn’t done anything to me yet didn’t mean I was off the hook. I felt like I was walking on thin ice in this house and it made me constantly anxious.
I heard Leo’s giggles coming from the bathroom and all my problems melted away instantly. The way I’d grown to care about this boy was truly remarkable.
Maybe it was because I saw Elijah in him, or maybe it was because he had something I never did growing up. A true father’s love, genuine and unconditional.
He came running out of the bathroom with the maid chasing after him, wrapped only in his little towel, water dripping everywhere.
“Come back here, Leo!”
There was still shampoo in his hair and when he ran straight into my arms, it got all over my shirt. He was clearly enjoying the chaos he was creating.
“There’s shampoo all over you, Leo. Go back to the bathroom and stop giving her such a hard time.”
He looked back at her as she stood there with foam still in her hands and an exhausted expression on her face, then finally decided to put her out of her misery by walking back to the bathroom himself.
I helped him into his pajamas once he was clean and dry, and tucked him into bed carefully, listening to the rain begin to patter steadily against the roof above us.
“It’s going to be a cold night so you need to be careful, okay? Stay under the covers or you’ll catch a cold.”
He lay perfectly still as I tucked him in snugly. When I kissed his forehead gently, he pointed toward his storybook on the nightstand.
“You want me to read you a bedtime story?”
He nodded eagerly, his eyes bright.
I picked up the book and opened it carefully. It seemed to be his absolute favorite because he always wanted me to read it to him no matter how many times we’d gone through it.
I started reading in a soft voice, taking occasional glances at him to check when he was beginning to fall asleep.
After a while, I looked over and saw he was already fast asleep, his breathing deep and even. He hadn’t even made it to the third page.
I lay down beside him because I knew Leo was very sensitive to movement even in sleep. If I tried to stand up and leave now, he would feel it and wake up, and he wouldn’t want me to go. So I’d just wait for him to fall into a deeper sleep before leaving, because I didn’t want Elijah to come back and catch me here.
I wrapped my arms around him protectively and patted him gently while he slept. It was such a foolish thing to do because the next thing I knew, I was waking up to Elijah standing directly above me.
He was standing in exactly the same way as last time, in the exact same spot by the bed.
I didn’t move at first because I thought it was like before when I’d hallucinated him being there, and I didn’t want to get up for something that wasn’t actually real.
But something felt distinctly different this time.
I could smell him. I couldn’t the other time.
My eyes widened when I realized that Elijah was real, and I got up from the bed immediately, straightening my rumpled shirt nervously.
I placed the blanket carefully over Leo and stepped a couple feet away from Elijah.
He didn’t say a word, just stared at me silently, and it was deeply unnerving.
“I’m sorry. I fell asleep by accident and I had no idea you were going to come here.”
There was no expression on his face whatsoever. He just stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at me as I stumbled over my words awkwardly.
“Um, he’s asleep.” Obviously, Adriana. “I’ll leave now.”
I turned around and started walking toward the door quickly. Finally, it felt like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders now that I’d finally spoken to him.
What had I been expecting? That he’d pull me in for a hug and tell me everything was fine?
“Adriana,” he called my name as I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
I let go of the door handle and stood in the hallway as he made his way toward me slowly.
I should have known he couldn’t handle seeing me sad. He was definitely going to apologize for being cold and treating me the way he had these past days.
He leaned against the door frame and stared directly into my eyes.
“I don’t want to see you near my son again. Stay away from him.”
With that harsh command, he slammed the door in my face.