Chapter 21 Adeline
Adeline POV
Seeing as I couldn't reason with Percy, I did as he asked and walked into my bedroom to pack a bag.
I had to take a minute to steady my shaky hands that almost dropped my suitcase. I packed some clothes blindly, not stopping to see if I needed them or not. My eyes land on a small velvet box that peeked out from the back of my dresser.
It was the ring Mason used to propose to me. I still don't know why I kept it. I opened it and the sight of the ring instantly transported me back to that unfortunate night Mason popped the question.
Three Years Ago
"I don't understand why you're hesitating," Mason says as he refilled my glass with a smile, the same charming, easy smile that made me fall for him freshman year. "It’s a simple solution, Addie."
I stare at the beautiful diamond ring on my finger.
"Mason," I say slowly, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. "You’re asking me to drop out, it's a huge ask when I’m in the top five percent of my class. I have interviews lined up for summer associate positions."
"I know, baby, and I’m so proud of you." He reaches across the table to take my hand in his. "But look at you. You’re exhausted. You have bags under your eyes. You're stressing yourself out over exams that won't matter in the long run."
"They matter to me."
"But they don't have to," he counters smoothly. "That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I just got the offer from my uncle’s firm. Starting salary is six figures plus the trust fund. You don't need to work, Adeline. I can take care of us."
"I want to work. I want to be a lawyer," I insist. "It's my life's dream."
Mason sighs, his smile waning. He looks at me like one would give a difficult child. "Adeline, be realistic. You want a family, right? You want kids?"
"Eventually, yes but..."
"So how is that going to work?" He laughs, shaking his head. "You’re going to be working eighty-hour weeks at some firm while a nanny raises our children? No. That’s not the life I want. And deep down, I know it’s not the life you want. You’ve struggled enough, Adeline with your family, your mom and all those things that has happened to you. I’m offering you a way out."
I roll my eyes at him at his mention of my past. He's always throwing it in my face to remind me that he's been generous by being with someone like me. Someone from a difficult background.
Anytime I accuse him of treating me like a charity case, he always denies it and frames it as him simply looking out for me.
"I'm not dropping out," I say firmly. "I can do both. Women do both every day. Why should I be the one who has to make a choice between a family and a career?"
Mason’s hand tightens around my fingers. "I'm not asking you to do both, Adeline. I'm telling you that I need a wife who supports me. My career is going to be demanding, which is why I need you at home to host dinners and be the mother my children deserve." He leans in and says in a voice that's supposed to be romantic, but it only ends up feeling threatening. "I'm giving you everything you could ever dream of, baby. I'm giving you my name and security, financially and otherwise, so you will no longer be stained by your father. Don't be ungrateful."
There he is with that word again. For some reason, Mason thinks he owns me like one owns a property.
If I marry him, I will never be Adeline again, that much is obvious. I will just be Mrs. Bernard. For the first time in a while, I really look at him, and I don't see a man that loves me. I see a man that wants to control my entire existence. Coupled with the fact that he just told me to abandon my dreams to fund and support his, which makes my decision easy.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
I slide the ring off my finger and place it on the table between us. "I’m not dropping out and I’m not marrying you."
Mason stares at the ring, then back at me. His face is twisted in a cold, ugly sneer that feels foreign to me.
"You’re making a mistake," he says. "You’re nobody without me, Adeline. You’re just a convict’s daughter with a pretty face. You walk away from this, and you’ll regret it. I promise you."
His words hurt me but I don't let him know that. On the other hand, I'm also grateful that I'm seeing this side of him. He has been keeping his true thoughts to himself.
"I’d rather be a nobody than be your property, Mason." With the rest of my dignity intact, I grab my purse and leave him standing there.
But he brought the ring back to my front door the next day with a note telling me to think about it. I just picked it up and threw it to the deepest part of my box and refused to see him after that day.
Present Day
"Adeline." The voice snaps me back to the present, and I blink back into focus. I quickly dropped the ring inside my trash can with anger before Percy came to my room. And I immediately picked up a poor sweater gripping it really hard.
Percy is standing in the doorway of my bedroom. He looks tired and angry and more annoyingly, he's distanced himself so he feels like a stranger.
"I'm ready."
He nods once and takes the suitcase from my hand without a word and carries it to the living room.
The drive to his penthouse makes me want to throw myself off the building because of how suffocating it was. He doesn't look at me or talk to me. He just focuses on driving, his jaw set in stone.
"Percy," I whisper, breaking the silence. "Please say something."
He keeps his eyes on the road. "I’m working."
"You’re driving."
"I’m thinking," he corrects. "About how to ruin a man's life without it all blowing up in my girlfriend's face."
Girlfriend. A small part of me rejoices because he still claims me as his even as he's furious with me.
"I’m sorry," I say. "I know I should have told you. I was just... I was so used to handling him alone."
"You aren't alone anymore," he says sharply. "That’s the point, Adeline, that’s the part you don't seem to understand."
He pulls the car into the underground garage of his building, and the gate closes behind us, sealing us in. It's not until he kills the engine that he looks at me.
"Give me your phone," he says, catching me off guard because that's the last thing I expect him to say.
"Why?"
"Because Mason is going to call you or text you. He’s going to wonder why you aren't spiraling or begging him for more time. I need to control the communication between you two."
I unlock my phone and hand it to him. He takes it, then pulls out his own phone. "Go to the bedroom and don't come out until I tell you."
We go up in the private elevator and I head straight to his bedroom as he ordered, taking a seat on the edge of his king-sized bed. I can hear him in the living room, making a call. I couldn't resist the urge to hear what he's saying so I creep closer to the door.
"It’s Akilov. I need you to handle something for me."