Page 153 of Outcast’s Vow

She gestures me to come inside and invites me onto her couch, returning with two steaming mugs of coffee.

“I’m guessing my son doesn’t know you’re here,” she remarks with a sly wink.

I shake my head.

“No, he doesn’t,” I reply, “and I would prefer him not to find out.”

Mina takes a sip from her mug.

“Your secret’s safe with me,” she says.

“I just wanted to come around and say hi. I was at college and thought that I’d make it out here while I was out.”

Mina’s face seems to glow even more.

To be honest, I don’t know why I came here.

“Well, it’s a lovely surprise to see you, Sylvie,” Mina says, “and I will be happy keeping this visit safe from Baptiste. He’s always keeping me away from his world, so it’s nice to have some secrets of my own for a change.”

“He shouldn’t keep you away from what he does.”

Mina reaches out and pats my hand.

“Oh, I want it like that,” she explains softly. “I don’t care for wealth and power and all of that which happens in the news, and my son perfectly understands that. As long as he’s happy, I’m happy. Baptiste is so protective of the ones he loves, as you might know.”

“Yes, I do know.”

“He’s always had walls, though,” Mina says. “He’s always blocked himself off from feeling anything that he can’t solve in a minute. I guess he’s had to, in the line of work he’s in. There’s no time for emotion. He rarely lets anyone see the real him. Other than Fabien and Clement, of course. You’re the first in a very long time.”

I take a beat.

“I have something to confess, Mina.”

She puts down her coffee and purses her lips, listening attentively.

“You do?”

“I must confess I hated your son the first time I met him,” I mumble, unsure of what’s coming out of my mouth. I came here meaning to be honest. I didn’t plan or rehearse a speech. “I didn’t even want to meet him. I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. In fact, meeting him was the exact opposite of what I wanted. He represented to me the loss of freedom I had feared since I was a little girl.”

Mina chuckles.

“I bet you gave him hell that first day,” she says.

“Oh, I did. And not just for the first day. For a long time. To be truthful, Mina, I was a bit like him. I shut him out. I refused to acknowledge what was truly going on between us. I painted a picture of Baptiste in my head being cold and heartless and just a horrible man. But then your son started to show me who he really is, like you said. Not through words, but through what he did for me. Sure, he can be possessive and assertive and stubborn as hell, but so can I. And I saw that. And I saw the real side of him. Charismatic and caring and loyal and, well, loving. And that’s when it was too late...”

“Too late for what?”

“Too late for me to stop myself from falling in love with him,” I whisper.

Mina smiles warmly.

“I knew the moment you first walked in here that day Baptiste brought you round how special you are,” she whispers. “And I know how much you mean to my son. The way he looks at you? It’s love.”

Her words hit me in a way that seems to drain all the air from my lungs. Inside and out, I’m beaming.

“Thank you, Mina.”

“And are you safe?” she asks me.