Score: Superwoman - Alicia Keys
Lydia
Right. I have clearly completely lost my mind.
I let out a deep, gurgling laugh, expecting the vision of Theodora to turn into smoke in front of my eyes.
There is no way she's here, and there's no way she said what she just said, right?
Right?
But she's standing there, in flesh and bone, her pearl-white teeth a sharp contrast to her bright-red lipstick, as her grin grows even wider.
She's looking like the Cheshire Cat right now, and she might be just as fictional, for all I know, after hearing her say she's here to convince me to take Patrick back.
I fold my arms over my chest.
"If that's why you are here, you're wasting your time," I say.
She rounds the sofa, her movements soft and fluid like a panther's.
"At least listen to me, Lydia," she says, standing right in front of me.
"Why do you want Patrick and I to get back together, after all that happened between us?" Suspicion sends chills right through to my bones.
That doesn't sound right. At all. There has to be something to it.
Theodora reaches with her hands and grabs my upper arms, the sapphire on her ring catching the sunlight and flashing a bright blue star, as her hand curls around my arm.
"I am a mother, in the first place and I want what's best for my son. Even though I haven't always been in agreement with him that it's you," her eyes are locked on mine.
The audacity of this woman...
"Then, what are you doing here?" I challenge her, wriggling out of her grasp.
"Patrick loves you," she says simply, shrugging her shoulders and rubbing her hand up and down my arm now.
Stop fucking touching me! Can't you get a hint?
"And he has been miserable beyond measure since you left him."
"I didn't leave him. He hurt me. And I don't even mean the hurtful things he said to me. He choked me. Didn't he tell you that?" I snap.
"He did, yes. And he deeply regrets his actions. He said he was pushed by your...confession."
"Well, I don't care how deeply he regrets his actions. What's done is done and there's no going back now," I say, dropping my arms down by my sides and squeezing my hands into fists. "Patrick is a grown man. I don't think he needs his mum to build his case for him."
"I'm not here to build his case for him," Theodora shakes her head. It is only now that I notice the dark circles surrounding her eyes that she has tried to conceal with makeup. On a closer look, she looks tired and old. Older than her forty-three years, at least. "I'm here for you, actually."
Another laugh escapes my throat, this time so bitter, that it almost morphs into something else. Darker. Uglier.
"For me? Don't make me laugh, Theodora. What can you possibly want with me?"
Theodora straightens her shoulders, gathering all the grace she's capable of. I've always admired her demeanor. It really is suitable for a queen, not just a countess.
"You know, Lydia, you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age," she begins.
"I highly doubt that," I sneer. I am in no mood to listen to her shit anymore.
YOU ARE READING
Never Summer Again
Romance"What are you left with, if you give up everything you think you know, for love?" LYDIA YOUNG hates her life. She's rich, beautiful, and popular, and dates a future lord, but her only wish is to get as far away from it all as possible. And she would...
