Forbidden Pleasures

[31.]

The evening passes rather slowly. Adrian spent a lot of time with my mother and when he returned down, he came alone. I haven't had the chance to speak to him about it, but the curiosity has been eating me alive.

The majority of guests already left, but there are still some still having a good time and a lot of them waited for Adrian to talk to him, so they grab every chance they can to talk to him. Which means he doesn't even have a minute so I could ask him about what happened.

I'm worried. I have no idea what my mother told him or wanted from him. Adrian hasn't even glanced at me since he came downstairs, which makes me worried even more.

I'm also tired. I've been running around most of the evening, trying to keep the guests happy. There was a lot of preparations for dinner. We had to cook for thirty guests while serving them champagne and snacks all evening.

But Milena and I managed without any big problems. Adrian missed the dinner, though. He was still talking to my mother and Mrs Welch went to search for him. She came down, glaring at me. She had to sit at the table with the chair next to her empty. I think she wasn't happy about receiving questions about her husband's whereabouts.

It was kind of my fault that she ended up looking like her husband abandoned her tonight. It's not my fault my mother showed up, but Adrian talked to her kind of because of me. I'm sure he'd go to her and throw her out if she weren't my mother, otherwise.

I felt sort of sorry for her. I know she hates me and I don't like her much either, but I still have some compassion in me left, not only for her, but for everyone basically. This is why I can get hurt so easily. I care about people way too much, which means I get to care about the wrong ones, too.

When the last guests start to leave, it's almost 2 a.m. and I want to sag in relief. I'm tired. And I'm dying to talk to Adrian. I want to know what happened.

There's still a lot of work to do. Milena and I have to clean the whole ground floor. We didn't have any time to talk tonight, except for the things regarding our work. I can see she's exhausted as well and I feel bad for the poor woman. She's way older than me, but she's still good at her work. She told me she's used to this kind of things.

I let out a long sigh when all of the guests leave and Milena and I are left alone. Adrian and Mrs Welch went upstairs already, which made me a little disappointed because I'll have to wait until the morning to finally find out what Adrian and my mother talked about.

"Was everything alright with you tonight, Cassie?"

I look at Milena who's leaning on the broom, wearing a concerned expression. "Yes. Why?"

"I just thought you were a little down and worried about something."

I lick my lips and avert my gaze, the memories from tonight all coming back into my mind all at once. So many things happened in one evening, I shouldn't be surprised I could manage to keep my face neutral the whole time. Adrian should give me a lesson or two about that. "My mother unexpectedly showed up."

Milena is stunned. "Really? Do you two not get along?" she asks with curiosity. "Sorry, sorry. I'm prying." She waves her hand around and starts sweeping the floor.

"No, it's fine, I think it's good I can tell this to someone." I shrug. "My mother isn't a good woman and we're not on good terms. I haven't heard from her since I came to London which is a few years now. I have no idea how she even found me. Adrian talked to her before and I didn't have a chance to ask him about it. It's been nagging me."

"Ah, Cassie. I feel like your young, kind soul has suffered so much already. How I wish you would find people who'd give you the love you deserve."