Hearts entwined, forbidden love ( Book 5 of Floyrince)

1

Amelia Lockhart stood at the imposing gates of the Prince estate, clutching her suitcase tightly in one hand, her three children standing quietly beside her. Ethan, the oldest at fourteen, tried to appear calm, while Levi, the middle child at twelve, kept his gaze down, and Samuel, the youngest at six, clung to his mother's side. The cold night air bit at their skin as they waited for any sign of compassion from the guards, who were growing increasingly irritated.

"You need to leave. This is private property," one of the guards warned, his voice stern. "Mr. Prince is asleep. It's ten o'clock at night, and you’re trespassing."

Amelia’s eyes remained determined as she refused to budge. "I’m not leaving until I meet Adrian Prince," she declared, her voice resolute, despite the tremor that hinted at the fear underneath.

The guards exchanged glances, unsure how to proceed. It was rare for someone to be this persistent at the gates, especially at such an hour. One of them finally sighed, reaching for his phone. "I’ll call Mr. Prince and his husband," he muttered.

A few tense minutes later, the gates opened, and the guards, now a bit more subdued, gestured for Amelia and her children to follow. As they walked through the grand estate, Amelia’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she knew there was no turning back now.

Inside, Trent and Adrian were waiting in the living room, both dressed in their pajamas, their faces showing a mixture of curiosity and weariness. Adrian leaned against the arm of the couch, while Trent stood beside him, arms folded.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Trent asked, his voice calm but firm.

Amelia hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath. "Amelia Lockhart. These are my kids—" she gestured to the three boys beside her, "Ethan, Levi, and Samuel."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the last name. "Lockhart? No. I cut ties with your family seven years ago. What do you want?" His tone was colder now, distant, as if already rejecting whatever plea she was about to make.

"I’m your cousin," Amelia said softly.

Adrian crossed his arms, unimpressed. "You want money?"

"No," Amelia shook her head, fighting back the lump in her throat. "I want you to adopt my kids—all of them. No one gets left behind."

The room fell silent for a moment. The boys stood still, their eyes darting between their mother and the two men in front of them. They had been told what to expect, but it was still hard to fully grasp.

"Excuse you?" Trent said, raising an eyebrow, his disbelief apparent.

Adrian scoffed. "Hell nah. Look, Amelia, there's a reason we don’t have kids. We don’t want kids."

Amelia’s voice cracked as she pleaded, "Please. You’re the only one who can help us. I left home, twenty years ago, I ran away when Grandpa wasn’t in prison, when he was still focused on finding you so he could...kill... you. I met a man, a white guy. We fell in love, got married, and lived quietly in Texas. I had my babies with him. Then he got terminally ill and died five years ago. I’ve been raising them alone since. He had no family, and now… now I have no one."

Trent, still skeptical, asked, "Why don’t you go back to your family?"

Adrian grimaced,  "Babe you know very well that all the Lockharts don’t want white kids, if they are mixed like me it's way worse. They’re just like my so-called grandpa. These kids would suffer there. If Grandma had been alive, maybe things would’ve been different, but..."

Amelia’s voice broke again. "I know I’m asking for a lot, but I want my babies safe and together. They can’t go to adoption centers and be separated. Please, help them."

A voice, interrupted from the stairs. "Help them? Shit, they even look like mini-yous, Ad. All that curly dark hair, that perfect blend of Black and white genes." Kennedy smirked as he walked down the stairs, his husband Kim right behind him. They had been watching the whole exchange unnoticed.

"Shit, you’re getting kids. Congratulations, little brother," Kim added with a grin, nudging Adrian.

"No one’s getting kids," Adrian snapped, glaring at his brother. "You two can have them."

Kennedy laughed. "Dude, we just got married, last of last month. Let us enjoy the honeymoon phase before we even think about adopting."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "What the hell is ‘last of last month’?"

Kim chuckled, "It’s the month before the previous one, dipshit."

But the conversation quickly turned serious again. "Amelia," Adrian sighed, "like I said, I’m sorry. We don’t want kids."

Trent nodded. "Look after your own kids."

Tears welled up in Amelia’s eyes as she finally said the words she had been dreading. "I can’t. I don’t have long. I’ve been diagnosed with stage-four cancer. The doctor said I only have a month, at most. I found out last week and left Texas. We came straight to New York. My kids are hungry, and we have nowhere to go. Please, Adrian… please adopt them. I want to die knowing they’ll be safe, I know I'm asking for a lot but you are their uncle, I know you will look after them even though you don't want kids, please, I beg you, we don't have much money, we lost that during my husband's treatments and medication, please, they are just kids."

The room went quiet again. Adrian looked away, unsure of what to say. His eyes met Kennedy’s, then Trent’s.

Kennedy stepped forward. "Ad, c’mon."

Adrian’s voice was softer now, conflicted. "They’re my nephews."

Trent looked at the kids, then back at Adrian. "They look a lot like you. Are we sure they’re not actually yours?" he joked half-heartedly before sighing. "You know what? Do whatever you want."

Adrian blinked, surprised. "You’re leaving the decision to me?"

Trent nodded. "Yes. I trust you. I’ll support whatever choice you make."

Adrian sighed deeply, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. "Okay. Kim, fix them something to eat, no use waking up the cook, and you are the only one here who cooks well and I’ll show them to the guest rooms, and we’ll talk about all of this in the morning."

Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "You have an operation in the morning."

"I’ll let another surgeon handle it," Adrian said, his mind already made up. "Ken, you have a day off, right? Then be with me."

"You got it, best friend slash brother-in-law and father of three," Kennedy replied with a teasing grin.

Adrian shot him a look. "Don’t make it weird. And I don’t want kids. We’ll talk tomorrow."