Chapter 159 Theo was right

Chapter 159 Theo was right
Adrian sank into the chair beside his son. The simple question had no simple answer. How did he explain four years of damage to a three year old? How did he make Theo understand that love was not always enough?

"If I bring Lady Lila to dinner, will you eat properly? All of your food?"

Theo nodded vigorously. "Yes! I promise! Every bite!"

"Very well. But you will behave. You will not ask difficult questions. You will not make Lady Lila uncomfortable. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Theo's entire face lit up.

Adrian left to fetch Lila. He found her in his chambers, sitting by the window with a book in her lap. The bandage on her temple was smaller now but still visible. Her face still carried the pallor of someone recovering.

"Theo refuses to eat unless you join us for dinner." Adrian's voice came out more curt than he intended. "I would not ask but he has been stubborn all day and I worry he will make himself ill."

Lila set down her book immediately. "Of course I will come. He should not suffer because things between us are complicated."

They walked to the royal dining room in heavy silence. Their shoulders did not touch. Their eyes did not meet. The space between them felt vast despite the narrow corridor.

Servants had set the table in the smaller family dining room. Just three place settings. Candles already lit against the gathering dusk.

Theo bounced in his chair when he saw them enter. "Aunt Lila! You came!"

"Of course I came." Lila smiled as she took her seat across from the boy. "I heard you were being very stubborn about dinner."

"I just wanted you here." Theo's grin was pure joy. "Everything is better when you are here."

Adrian took his place at the head of the table. Close enough to both of them but separated. Always separated.

Servants brought food. Roasted chicken and fresh bread still steaming with vegetables glazed with honey. There was wine for the adults, milk for Theo.

They ate in tense silence. Adrian's jaw was tight enough to crack. Lila kept her eyes fixed on her plate. Only Theo seemed unaware of the charged atmosphere.

"I learned new letters today." Theo swung his legs under the table. "Miss Clara says I am very smart. I can spell my whole name now. T-H-E-O."

"That is wonderful." Lila's voice was warm. "Soon you will be reading books all by yourself."

"Will you read to me? Papa reads to me sometimes but he uses all the big words I do not know yet." Theo looked between them hopefully. "Maybe you could both read to me together?"

Adrian's fork scraped against his plate. "Eat your vegetables, Theo."

"But they are mushy. I do not like mushy things."

"You liked them well enough when you were demanding Aunt Lila come to dinner." Adrian's voice held warning. "Eat."

Theo pouted but obeyed. He chattered between bites about his day, his lessons, the cat he had seen in the garden that morning.

Lila responded with appropriate sounds. Asked gentle questions. Smiled at his enthusiasm.

Adrian said nothing. He ate mechanically, his mind elsewhere.

"Papa, why do you look angry?" Theo's question cut through the silence. "Are you mad that Aunt Lila is here?"

"No. I am not angry." The lie tasted bitter.

"Then why do you look like you want to hit something? You always look like that lately." Theo's observation was painfully accurate. "Even when you smile, your eyes look sad."

Adrian set down his fork. "Finish your dinner, Theo. It is getting late."

"But I want to know why everyone is always sad. Why you and Aunt Lila do not talk. Why everything feels heavy even when we are supposed to be happy." Theo's voice trembled. "I just want us to be a real family. Like in the pictures I draw. Is that so hard?"

Lila's eyes filled with tears she would not let fall. Adrian's hands clenched into fists beneath the table.

"No, sweetheart." Lila's voice was thick. "That is not hard at all. Sometimes adults make things harder than they need to be."

"Then stop making it hard." Theo's logic was irrefutable. "Just be happy. Just be together. Just be normal."

Adrian stood abruptly. "You have eaten enough. Miss Clara will take you for your bath now."

"But Papa, I want to stay with you and Aunt Lila!"

"Tomorrow. You can see Aunt Lila tomorrow." Adrian's tone left no room for argument. "Go. Now."

Theo's face crumpled but he obeyed. Miss Clara appeared to collect him, leading him away with promises of a story before bed.

His protests faded down the corridor, leaving Adrian and Lila alone in suffocating silence.

Lila stood slowly. "Thank you for letting me come. I know this was difficult for you."

"Everything is difficult lately." Adrian's voice was rough. "But Theo is right. I am making things harder than they need to be."

"We both are." Lila moved toward the door. "Good night, Adrian."

"Wait." The word stopped her. "Lila, about what Theo said. About being a family. About being together."

She turned, hope and fear warring in her expression.

Adrian opened his mouth. Closed it. The words caught in his throat like broken glass. How did he tell her that he wanted exactly what Theo wanted? How did he admit that every day of distance was torture? How did he confess that watching her across the dinner table made him want to drag her into his arms and never let go?

But the investigation was not complete. Gerrit was still free. Danger still circled. And speaking the truth out loud felt like inviting disaster.

"Never mind." He turned away. "It can wait. Get some rest. Your head must be hurting."

Lila's face fell. She nodded once and left without another word.

Alone in the dining room, Adrian gripped the back of his chair hard enough to crack wood. Coward. He was a coward. Letting fear control him again. Letting danger dictate his choices again.

Theo was right. It should not be this hard. But it was. And Adrian had no idea how to make it simple.