A Pearl In The Oyster ☑️

24. La vérité - The Truth

What the hell was André Beaumont doing here?

Alarm bells rang in my head, seeping into my blood, screaming at me to kick this man out of the room. But, I didn't. I couldn't. I couldn't do this to the man I was supposed to marry. And of course, mama would come to know everything. How long could I keep this a secret from her?

"Ah, here she comes," André commented. It might have looked like affection to my mama, but I knew it was far from it. It was a call to brace myself, I was sure.

But, one look at mama's face told me that she wasn't miffed in the slightest. Her light eyes shone brighter than before, and it didn't seem that she was tired at all.

"Pourquoi ne m'as-tu pas parlé de ce jeune homme plus tôt? C'est ton petit ami?" She asked me with so much excitement, that I couldn't refuse.

It was as if she was ordering me to agree with her, but even if there was no pressure, she would have probably heard the same sentences.

I glanced over at André, who just shrugged his shoulders, leaving the weight back on me. I was sure all these questions were because of him. He must have definitely said something which made mama suspicious. And now, he wanted nothing to do with this?

Irresponsible, as always.

"Oui, mama." Came my curt reply.

I wasn't ready to dive into a series of ludicrous lies and stories full of saccharine in front of André. This man didn't deserve to hear any of it.

Before mama had the chance to intervene, I turned to André. "Can you please leave now? She just finished a session, and needs to rest."

He nodded silently at my request, but kept his grey eyes on me. They were blank as always, but I could sense his brain working tirelessly behind those eyes. I wondered what he was going to think now, but I didn't let my confusion show in front of mama. She was adept at reading me effortlessly, and her instincts hadn't vanished even now. Even when she was ill, her brain worked perfectly fine.

As he stood up, the smile on mama's face weakened. "Vas-tu partir, fils?"

He saw that, and smiled. It was extremely rare to see him show his teeth to people, and the fact that he'd done that for mama, somehow warmed me. His posture in front of her was respectful, his voice was devoid of any arrogance, and his mouth was decorated in a beautiful smile.

It was as if he had turned on a switch, and had decided to project all the qualities of a perfect man inside him. Because right now, he wasn't the usual André Beaumont. Right now, he was the version everyone around him would love.

Right now, he was the version of himself I'd always wished to see.

He bent over the bed, and held mama's frail hands in his strong ones. "Oui mama. Mais je reviens bientôt," he casually spoke in impeccable French, successfully shocking me.