THIN ICE |BOOK I |BWWM|

•ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 35•

•SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA•

Julia's POV

Who does the shopping?

I wonder what kind of perfume that was?

I need more lotion.

Despite missing two sessions of therapy, maintaining mental control was somehow still manageable, but in the absence of Dr. Sullivan's guidance I couldn't help reverting back to my old coping strategies.

Thought blocking.

"I'm full Mommy." Nicolai whimpered and held his head while leaning his elbow on the table.

I hated being here- emphasis on hate, but Adrian surprised me with how well he had people taking care of Nick. Still, it was quite unnerving.

I glanced at his almost full plate and smoothed my fingers through his shiny curls.

"You barely touched your food, baby."

"I don't want anymore." Nicolai rested his head on me as I wrapped my bandaged arm around his shoulders.

I'd opted out of telling Adrian anything about Gaia's attack. I didn't need any reason for her not to follow through on our deal. Freedom outweighed a stupid flesh wound.

"You have to eat sweetheart. The doctor gave you antibiotics, so you need your strength to heal."

My palm cupped my son's supple check as his face twisted and he began to whine.

"Buongiorno Don." Stella, one of the chefs, greeted Adrian as he sauntered through the archway of the kitchen to the granite island.

She held his China mug filled with fresh coffee atop a small saucer in one hand and a pristine silver spoon in the other.

In one swift motion, Adrian eagerly nabbed the glass from her grasp and nodded.

"What's the sched-" He yielded as his attention shifted to me and Nicolai's direction.

"What's going on?"

Adrian paced to the table as his eyes flipped between us both.

"He's full."

"And that's why you're letting him whine like this?" He questioned while calmly taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, he's six and he did get shot- figured it was appropriate." I gave a curt smile.

"That won't work."

Adrian set his coffee on the table as knelt down to Nicolai's eye level and softly placed his hand on his knee.

"What's wrong Nicolai? You didn't get through half of your breakfast. You didn't even eat your bacon. Why not?"

"He's full and he's allergic-"

"I'm talking to Nicolai. He needs to learn to speak up for himself."

Nick's attention bobbed to me then back to Adrian as he questioned him again.

"What's wrong Nicolai?"

"M-My tummy hurts."

"I'm sorry about that Nicky. It's gonna hurt for a while, but you can't whine to your mom. You have to be strong. And you have to eat."

Stella placed Adrian's plate on the other empty placemat on the table and he stood straight while ruffling Nick's hair.

My fists clenched and my arm that wrapped around Nick's shoulder pulled him closer as a snarl warped my mouth.