The Billionaire's Hidden Heir

#21 - Not Mine

Lily

"Have fun, mom." Asher's words echoed for the umpteenth time, making me a liar. I knew I shouldn't have smiled at my son when he'd wished me a fun night, knowing I had no intentions of having any kind of fun with his father.

In my defense, though, the surprisingly fun afternoon spent with him and Adrian scrambled all my bearings regarding my ex-husband and left me diving head-deep into the illusion of the little happy family we made. Making Asher think that happiness would spill over into my night had come naturally. To keep myself from indulging in that lie anymore, because I had no business imagining us ever being a family, I spent the better part of my evening regaining those bearings while getting ready for this dinner. And I had, was ready to be professional for Radiant Springs' sake, but then Adrian had gone ahead and shown up looking like everyone of my dreams and staring at me just as I had longed for him to each time I met him for dinner.

Yeah, met him for dinner, because he preferred meeting up to picking me when we were married. Even after saying he'd be there after dropping me off at my house, a part of me had actually expected him to call Benji and my bodyguard would be the one to show up with that apologetic smile I had become familiar with during my marriage. When it had been Adrian standing at my front door, his smile not apologetic but breathtaking, everything in me got scrambled all over again - forgetting this was about spiting his fiancée. And when he complimented me, breathlessly, I had no idea how to respond, except to remind him of the very thing I'd forgotten since he stepped into my house bearing a beautiful bunch of my favourite flowers: this dinner was in no way a personal one. Adrian was doing this for Frost Industries contrary to what Derby seemed to think.

I shifted in my seat, feeling prickles of annoyance at being stuck in the car with him, facing a whole dinner with his intense gaze burning holes in the stunning dress Derby had picked for me. Despite pointing out the need to be professional, Adrian's open appreciative gazes only felt more intense with each passing moment, my awareness of him increasing too, making me regret ever agreeing to this evening.

"It's not that much further, you can relax."

"I am relaxed." I snapped, hating that he saw right through me. I hated the soft way he spoke too which gave me another glimpse of that Adrian who'd cared about the tiniest things about me once. I'd received an abundant share of those throughout the day today, and I'd been left constantly reminding myself that that Adrian, 'my Adrian', no longer existed. Whatever I was seeing was only for him to get in my good graces for Asher's sake. The truth of that stirred an age old hurt in my heart, making me stare out of the window even when I saw nothing of the world that was breezing by.

"The ring is not mine." Adrian suddenly said, snapping me out of the haze of painful emotions.

"I'm sorry, what?" I turned to him, our gazes clashing, the weight of his words stirring a storm of disbelief within me. What was he saying?

"Courtney's ring, it's not mine," he repeated, causing my heart to stumble, so much he probably saw it too. Whatever I had expected out of his mouth, it was not that, and more than that, I didn't know what to do with the confession as a million thoughts filled my head, muddling up everything in there. I stared at him as pain, hurt, hate and a whole host of feelings I could not name swirled in me. And questions, in thousands, ones I could not dare to ask even if I wanted to. Why the hell was he going there? My stare morphed into a glare at my ex-husband.

He stared right back, his gaze not a glare, though, but a plea that was begging me to see...something... what?

"I don't know what Courtney's ring has to do with Radiant Springs." The words were a cold murmur out of my lips as I looked away, just the thing to help me regain those bearings again, to see Adrian in the light I should have been today. "Is there?"

I felt his still gaze for what felt like the longest minute before I heard movement. "I need you to know that," he finally replied, his voice cool and collected and so damned gentle I could clearly see us in those moments back then when young me thought he was my personal angel. He needed to stop talking, or I needed to stop listening. "...and I needed to get the fact out of the way."

Out of the way? He'd just placed her and that stupid ring on center stage, and now I was not only grappling with my own emotions, I was annoyed too because I had let Courtney get to me again. "Trust me, she's not that significant to be in the way," I wanted to say, but I knew that would be a lie. So I merely stared away from him, not wanting to hear more of his confessions. If only that could also stop his heavy gaze, which felt like it was pleading on his behalf for me to listen, or my own heart that wondered what all this meant.

"We are here," he announced when the silence between us stretched, filling me with relief at the opportunity to escape it all.

My quick exit came to an abrupt halt, though, when I stopped to blink and stare at where 'here' was, realizing in a heartbeat that I did not know this part of Radiant Springs. Which had to be impossible for someone who'd explored the little town from end to end. "Where are we?" I blurted when the darkness of our destination suddenly flooded with light as what seemed like a thousand fairy lights came on at the flick of an invisible switch.

"It so happens that I didn't get the wrong idea about this date." Adrian stared out at the sight before us, his voice calm and composed before a hint of admiration filled it. He was clearly impressed. "As it turns out we are still working." He turned to me with a smile that pierced me with something I didn't want to think about after his confession.

"We are?" Here? I stared out at the magical atmosphere as he switched off the engine and got out, rounding to my side and opened my door before I could. This would have been Benji. Having Adrian standing before me, staring like that, offering me his hand was something I hadn't prepared myself for either.

"You don't have to do that," heart pounding at his closer proximity, I grumbled, declining the offer of his hand while I felt a little stupid too for thinking Adrian could ever get off track when it came to his precious work.

"I do," his smile widened, sending my heart dancing to a strange rhythm without my permission.

"No, you don't," I protested as I willed my heart to still itself. There was nothing but pain in hoping for anything with Adrian, no matter what had come out of his mouth. I'd finally learnt that lesson.

"Of course, I do, Forest Lily." He stepped into me, his hand reaching for mine before I realized, the surprise touch and name he hadn't used in forever sending my world spinning on its axis. How the hell could one name and one touch make me feel so much even after everything? But even as that question raced through my mind, the answer was clear: it was always him, Adrian Frost.