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She walked toward the stairs that led to their apartment upstairs.
Adrianna turned to look at Lauren, a deep frown etched in her face. "What just happened?"
"She didn't say two words on the trip and Winter said she's been withdrawn the whole day. Winter also told me she didn’t participate in art class," Lauren paused, "Sorry, hi, Cam."
He gave her a nod and a brief smile.
"She was really quiet this morning, but I thought she was just tired," Adrianna told them. "I'm going to talk to her."
•••
Adrianna knocked on Bron’s bedroom door and opened it. Her daughter sat in the middle of her bed hugging her knees with her head resting on top of them.
"Bron?"
No answer.
The uneasy pinch in her stomach grew. This was very unlike her kid. Bron was almost never sad and never stopped talking. "Is there something you want to talk about,princesa?"
"No, I'm fine," Bronwyn said not looking at her.
Adrianna placed her phone on the night stand and sat on the bed, facing her. "You know, I think we are more than mother and daughter. You and I are best friends too. Best friends confide in each other when something is wrong. That way they can help one another. I want to help you and you can always come to me when you need me."
Bronwyn turned to look at her with glistening eyes. "You can't help me. He’s leaving you too, again." She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes. "I know Cam’s my dad—" her voice broke off.
The floor dropped out from under Adrianna’s feet and she was lightheaded. She wasn’t ready for this moment. How could she explain everything that happened, and the secrets she carried, to a nine-year-old?
"Is it because of me that he doesn't want to stay? I thought he liked me, but he doesn't." Bronwyn’s lip trembled, crushing Adrianna's heart against her ribs.
She scooped her baby up onto her lap and rained kisses over her face. "No,princesa, he adores you, like I do. He thinks you are the most amazing and beautiful girl ever. He's going to come back. He just has business to take care of and he wants to tell his family about you."
Her little girl shook her head against her chest. “He won’t. He said he’s going to take care of business. Ayla’s mom never came back after she left on her business trip.”
"He never left us. He didn't know about you. I promise you, my love, he will come back." Even as she said it, Adrianna prayed Cam didn't let them down.
She held Bronwyn until she fell asleep and would have been happy to hold her all day, but Cam waited outside. Her chest hurt, thinking of Bron torturing herself with this.
She got up to leave but her phone was flashing. She grabbed it and noticed she had an email alert from The Law Offices of Sanders & Associates. She frowned. The name rang a bell but she couldn’t place it. Cam was outside waiting but curiosity got the best of her. She opened the email and scanned through it. Her body grew cold with each letter she read.
A formalrequest that a paternity test is carried out in order to establish whetherBronwyn Arenas is the biological child of Cameron Blake…
She stopped reading after that. A fissure formed along her chest sending waves of anger and shame through her. He didn’t fully believe her. No matter what he said, Cam had doubts and for some reason that hurt like hell. She pressed her hand to her chest, trying to quell the pain and reminding herself that this was only normal.
You’ve been out of his life for ten years. This is a natural step like you told Lauren.Still, she wished she could feel nothing. Bron sighed and her attention was back on her child. This was all for her because she was all that mattered.
Adri used that to steel herself. She tiptoed out of the room and closed the door. Cam and Lauren waited for her in the living room. She exhaled deeply. "She knows you’re her father."
"What? How?" Lauren asked but Adrianna's gaze focused on Cam’s bulging eyes and pale face.
"I didn't ask her. She's too upset." Adrianna took a deep breath. "She thinks you're leaving again because of her."
"She thinks I left her?" He dropped to the couch and put his head in his hands. "I'm really going to kill Walter for this."
Adrianna stood in front of him. "We are not going through that again! Your daughter thinks you are abandoning her. Instead of concentrating on what you'll do to your father, why don't you start thinking of ways you can reassure her?"
He gaped at her for a few moments. "I'm not leaving."
"You have to go. If you arrange everything like you said, you'll have a lot of time to spend with her and you have to tell your brother and sister."
