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“I heard you were abducted.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Again. By the same man.”
To my surprise, she puts her hand over mine. “Are you alright?”
I pull my hand away slowly. “Yeah.”
Why is she acting like a mother all of a sudden?
She draws a breath. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I know you think I tried to make your life miserable on purpose, especially now that you know you’re adopted. But that isn’t the case. How I treated you. It’s not because you’re adopted or I don’t care for you. It’s because you were a girl. I was harder on you because I know how hard it is to be a woman. I tried to prepare you to be the best woman you could be because I didn’t want you to end up like me, hiding behind a man. I got frustrated with you so often because you couldn’t see your own potential, how beautiful you were, how talented you were.”
I say nothing.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is I did my best to be a mother to you and I hope you’ll forgive me for the times I failed.”
My eyebrows arch. I don’t know what’s more surprising – the fact that she’s pouring her heart out to me, treating me like a grown-up all of a sudden, or the fact that she just admitted she isn’t perfect.
Again, she reaches for my hand. “I also want you to know that I am still your mother, so if you need anything – anything – if you want to talk about anything, I’m here. We Chandler women should stick together.”
In spite of myself, I smile. Who knew she could be this nice? Why didn’t we have this conversation sooner?
A small part of me thinks it’s too late for us. The larger part disagrees.
My real mother is dead. Suzette is the only mother I have. She’s the only one I’ve known. And I don’t have any sisters or female friends to confide in.
I think all I’ve ever wanted was for us to be best friends. Maybe that can start now.
I give her a hug. She squeezes me tight and my chest swells with joy.
It’s never too late for two women to be best friends.
She pulls away. “So… is there anything you want to talk to me about?”
I nod. “Actually, there is. It’s about Cain.”
“The man you brought to my party?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do to you?” Suzette asks in a concerned tone.
“That’s the thing. He hasn’t really done anything to me. I mean anything bad. He hasn’t hurt me or cheated on me. He’s always been good to me. Still, I don’t know if I should be with him.”
“Why do you think you shouldn’t be with him?”
“Because he’s done some bad things in the past,” I answer. “Things I would never do. Things that would be bad if other people found out.”
“But it’s in the past, right?” Suzette asks.
I nod.
Well, except for Gil. That’s recent, though it was revenge for a past incident. Also, I was the one who urged him to go after Gil.
Wait. So I was okay with him killing Gil?
“Then I think that it should be left behind,” Suzette says. “Everyone faces hard choices, and everyone makes mistakes, Allie. If everyone was defined by them, no one would be happy. Cain’s life wasn’t as easy as yours, but he’s turned out to be a fine man, right? Cain gave himself a chance to be better. I think he deserves a chance to be loved. And about other people finding out, who cares what they say? People will always talk. People will always be nosy and envious. So long as you and Cain believe the best about each other and stand by each other, no one can bring you down.”
I fall silent as I ponder her advice.
Suzette takes my hand. “I think the question you should be asking is not if you should be with Cain but if you want to be. Do you want to be with Cain? Do you love him?”
I do. Frankly, I can’t imagine being with any other man.
I nod.
“Then that’s what matters, right?”
Suzette’s right. When I found out back in the attic that Cain was an assassin, I didn’t care. When I was told he had died, though, my world collapsed.
So why do I care so much now?
It doesn’t matter what Cain did or what he’s capable of doing. I know who he is and how much he means to me.
I look at Suzette. “Thank you. I think I know what to do now.”
She smiles and touches my cheek. “Follow your heart.”
I nod and stand up. “I have to go.”
Now that I know what my heart wants, I feel the urge to grab it right now.
“Go,” Suzette tells me.
I grab my purse and my car keys and rush out the door. I’m about to get inside my car when I see another vehicle stop in front of the house. I spot Taylor in the driver’s seat.
