Page 35 of Redamancy (Fated Fixation #2)

Chapter twenty-seven

T his has got to be the weirdest breakfast of my life.

Not only because I’m sitting across from an otherwise pleasant woman I know to be a monster—but because I don’t have any clue how Mary Ellis got into the penthouse.

Does she have a key?

Does she even live in New York?

Adrian hadn’t made any comments to suggest that his mother—well, they including his father—did, but it’s not as if they’re a favorite conversation topic.

“You know,” Mary Ellis leans forward, still warm and smiling as she sips her espresso. “Adrian has told me about you, Poppy.”

My brows furrow. “He has?”

Because I was under the impression he didn’t talk to you unless Hell was freezing over.

She nods, and it’s hard to ignore how striking she is—especially when I see some of Adrian’s features mirrored in hers: high cheekbones, dark hair, and the same sort of charming smile that feels like it’s tugging at your own mouth in return.

Every move she makes feels practiced—the way she holds her espresso cup with just two long, thin fingers, her perfect posture at Adrian’s kitchen table, even the way she brushes the invisible lint from her blouse.

Her eyes are dark gray-blue, though. “I could tell there was someone,” she nods.

“He’s always liked to play his cards close to the chest, but as an Ellis…

we’re unable to do anything by partial measures.

Either we feel nothing or everything. Anger is hate.

Love is obsession.” She sighs. “Not unlike me and his father.”

I sip my coffee, more curious than I’d like to admit. “And Adrian’s father? Was he obsessed with you?”

She chuckles quietly. “Oh, no. Other way around. Adrian gets that from me.” I don’t expect her to elaborate beyond that, but she continues. “You have to be careful though. These emotions…strong as they are, can be just as fleeting.”

I blink, too guarded to be surprised by the personal jab, but unsure how to respond to it either.

Not long ago, a comment like that would’ve sent me spiraling with doubt, but now…

I’ve got all the security in the world.

So, I sip my coffee in silence.

Mary Ellis examines me before she reaches forward to brush back a strand of my hair. “I just don’t understand.” Her mouth clicks. “Why he’s hiding you like this, as pretty as you are.”

I smile, a little nervously, because—her history aside—there’s just something off about the comment. An internal siren that keeps going off. “So,” she claps her bony hands together. “I want to know everything about you!”

As soon as she’s turned to sip her coffee, I discreetly reach for my phone and text Adrian.

***

Adrian returns home less than ten minutes later, and the smile on his face—the one that mirrors his mother’s—is only superseded by the intensity of his dark eyes.

“Adrian!” she gasps, full of joy, like she hasn’t seen him in years, and pulls him in for a bony hug.

“Mother,” he leans down to kiss her cheek as she does—but the darkness in his eyes has not lightened. “How did you get in here? Why are you in the city?” His gaze even flits to me, and I enthusiastically shake my head.

As if I would let anyone inside here, let alone an evil mother-in-law .

“Oh, your doorman. He recognized me and let me up,” she says. “And your father and I just wanted a change of pace. We're staying at the Brownstone."

His expression darkens. “I see.”

“Don’t be mad,” she chides him. “You look like your father when he’s disappointed.” Adrian stiffens, but she’s already flitted onto the next topic.

Me.

“Now, why have you been hiding away my new daughter-in-law?” She asks, with a slight wave of her fingers in my direction. “Especially one as lovely as this? And—” She glances around the apartment. “Up here? There’s no warmth. You could’ve brought her to the Brownstone, at least.”

Even more stiffening of his shoulders—though I’m not sure in exact response to what. “I’m not bringing her to the Brownstone,” he retorts, his voice sharp.

“Why not? I’ll throw you the engagement party you never had,” she comments pointedly.

“No.”

“Poppy?” She turns back to me, lips puckered almost like she’s pouting.

“You’d like an engagement party, wouldn’t you?

You didn’t even get the chance at a proper wedding.

” She throws Adrian a chastising look. “Just like you, I suppose. Rush her to the altar before she can change her mind, and tell no one, not even your parents.”

“We can have a proper wedding ceremony later in the year,” Adrian retorts. “And don’t pretend as if you’re doing any of this for her.”

Her gaze sharpens to ice, and I shiver.

So, that’s where he gets that glare from.

It’s gone in less than a millisecond though, and she clears her throat. “I would’ve thought you’d want to introduce your wife to the world, Adrian. Take her out. Show her off.” Her brows dip together. “Or is this…” Her eyes flicker to me. “Not something you’re interested in being public about?”

“Stop trying to sow seeds of doubt in my wife’s head,” Adrian snaps. “We’ll go public on our terms, not yours. Your manipulation tactics are tired, Mother. You’re not throwing us a belated engagement party.”

Mary Ellis raises her haughty chin. “Fine. Not an engagement party…but I still want you to visit the brownstone. You don’t need to tell anyone about the status of your relationship. It’ll just be a gathering. Local friends only."

“No,” Adrian’s answer is flat.

Her eyes narrow, and she pauses before her next proposal. “What if I convince your father to meet with the lawyers? Would that sweeten the deal?”

Interest does shine in Adrian’s eyes, but then he shakes his head. “I don’t believe you. He’d drag this out for years if he could.”

“He’s tired of it all,” she says. “All the constant back and forth…he’s ready to let things go if you are.

” She lays a bony hand on his arm. “One party, and I promise he’ll call the lawyers on Monday.

Set up a meeting.” She pauses. “And now that we’ve got a new member of the family, I’m sure he’ll be even more amenable. ”

Adrian stares at her, like he’s sizing up the authenticity of her offer.

And then he nods. “Fine. One party. No mention of an engagement or wedding.”

“At the brownstone,” she adds. “It’s a better venue than you could ever rent in this city, anyway.”

His lip curls. “Fine.”

“Good.” She smiles triumphantly. “I’ll send you the details.”

“Informal,” Adrian says. “Very informal.”

“Of course,” she nods.

She doesn’t linger long after that, and when she reaches up to hug Adrian goodbye, she whispers something in his ear—and his eyes narrow.

As soon as the elevator doors shush closed, I whirl on him.

“Okay…what the hell was that?”

His expression has flattened past anything I’ve ever seen it—and he continues to watch the elevator door, even minutes after she’s gone.

“That was my mother,” he says, his voice hard and cold.

“Showing up here much sooner than I thought she would.” He draws a hand through his curls, tousled from the wind, and sighs.

“In retrospect, I probably should’ve expected it.

She’s got a sixth sense for these things.

Probably used one of our PIs to find the marriage license. ”

“So…” I clear my throat, still shaking off her presence. “What was all that stuff? About the lawyers?”

And is this why you’ve kept yourself from me for so long?

Is it something to do with them?

His jaw ticks, his shoulders wound tight—and then he tugs me into his lap. “It’s about my trust fund,” he tells me. “I was… supposed to receive full access to the family trust almost a year ago, when I turned twenty-eight.”

My eyes narrow.

Why does this…

The interview he did with Suzie Edmond, the journalist, flashes to mind—the one I watched all those months ago.

Right.

The legal issues.

“But my parents have been holding up what is, legally mine with annoying legal nuances,” he explains. “Specifically, my father. He knows once I have access, there’ll be no need to play nice anymore.”

A slight shiver wracks down my spine, afraid to know what no longer ‘playing nice’ looks like in the Ellis family.

“So, that’s her bargaining chip for this party.”

He nods.

“And does she mean it?”

“Most likely not.”

“Then…why agree?”

He looks at me, his dark eyes softening as he brushes his thumb against my cheek. “Because my mother will get her way, regardless,” he says. “And it’s time I handled this. It’s the last obstacle in the way.”

This time, I go rigid in his arms. “What do you mean?”

“I thought it’d be safe,” he explains. “For you to be in my life once I had full access. It’s the reason I’ve stayed away all these years.

I couldn’t let them know I had a vulnerability, and especially not one so…

” He pauses, and then shakes his head. “Well, I’m sure they’re both secretly ecstatic to know you exist. They’re going to try to use you to force my hand, I know it. ”

Force your hand for what?

My stomach drops, but his hand on my waist tightens. “I just need to take care of things once and for all.” He plants a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead—but I’m still stuck on the rest of that sentence.

“Take care of things?” My throat tightens. “You don’t mean—I mean, they’re still your family. Isn’t that…”

“They’re my parents,” Adrian tells me, and his dark eyes soften when he looks at me. “They’re not my family. You are my family. I am only interested in protecting you.”

I’m not sure why I think of it just then—but I ask, “What did she whisper in your ear? Before she left?”

His eyes narrow with irritation, but not directed at me. “She told me I shouldn’t bring home strays.”