Chapter 311
To say Marianne Thomas was surprised by Adam Collins would have been a colossal understatement. She had met her grown-up daughter Melanie a few times and though she had changed a lot, her innate calm and steadiness had still reflected in her even after all these years. And later, when she had heard that her daughter was married to the CEO of a multinational company, she had thought that Melanie had remained true to her personality, marrying someone staid and dependable.
But never had she imagined that the man her daughter had chosen would turn out to be someone like this. And from the way her husband had visibly stiffened beside her, she was certain he hadn’t expected it either.
In fact, she was quite convinced that if Melanie had been raised by them and had ever dared to bring home a boy who looked and dressed like that, her father wouldn’t have just disapproved-he would have grounded her on the spot, locked her in a tower Rapunzel-style, and tossed the keys into the sea for good measure.
She stared, dumbfounded, trying to process the dissonance between her expectations and the man standing in front of her. There he was, dressed in a snug black polo-neck T-shirt under a worn leather jacket, paired with faded jeans and boots that had definitely seen better days. The effect was striking and not necessarily in a good way since it screamed ’dangerous man’.
She was so taken aback by the ensemble that she didn’t even register his name when it was said, her mind too preoccupied with questions like ’Is this really him? and What on earth was Melanie thinking?’
Melody, on the other hand, was equally thrown- but for an entirely different reason. Every time Adam had come to pick up Adir from school, he’d been the picture of professionalism- always in crisply ironed suits or a shirt-and-trouser combo that gave off the unmistakable aura of a man who had meetings to attend and things to sign.
The only thing that ever slightly undercut that image was the small, rebellious silver lip ring he wore- a detail she had always hated. In her eyes, it clashed terribly with his otherwise elegant face and personality.
And yet, standing here now, with his unkempt hair falling into his eyes and his entire look screaming reckless nonchalance, Melody found herself blinking in disbelief. She barely recognized him.
Adam stared at the three people in front of him with varying shades of disbelief etched into their faces, and for a fleeting moment, he was amused. He could practically see the protectiveness coiling in Mr. Thomas, who looked one firm breath away from declaring a full-blown crusade. The man’s jaw was clenched so tightly, Adam was sure the man would end up with a broken molar.
Mrs. Thomas, on the other hand, looked torn between curiosity, judgment, and a whole myriad of emotions that he did not have time to assess. As for Melody—her irritation was radiating off her in waves. But since she was of no concern to him, he did not pay her any attention.
He almost grinned at their confusion. Good, there was a reason he chose to dress like this. If he wanted answers, he needed to keep them off balance.
“Please. Have a seat.”
There was a pause, an awkward shuffle, and then, they all sat. Mr. Thomas’s posture remained rigid, like he was sitting on a throne made of thorns. Marianne’s hands were folded primly in her lap, though her eyes kept flickering around.
“Thank you for coming. I understand this visit might not be easy, so I appreciate your time.”
Mr. Thomas made a derisive noise but said nothing.
Adam continued, unbothered. “That said, I’ll be direct—why do you want to see Melanie?”
The question landed like a slap in the silence. Mr. Thomas’s eyes blazed. “Because ,” he barked, “she is my daughter!”
There was venom in the way he said my, as if Adam had been the one who had stolen her from him and was now dangling her out of reach.
Adam nodded once, slowly. “Understood,” he said evenly, not reacting to the heat. “But please, Mr. Thomas, I need you to calm down. I’m not here to argue.”
He glanced briefly at Marianne, then back. “I know you think I’m standing between you and your daughter. And I’ll admit—yes, I am, but it is for her protection and I intend to keep doing that. But it’s not out of spite. The truth is… Melanie doesn’t remember you much. Barely at all. And before we proceed with anything, there are a few things she needs clarity on.”
The man opened his mouth again, but Marianne laid a hand gently on his arm, giving him a quiet shake of her head. “Richard.”
Adam turned his attention to Marianne Thomas then and raised an eyebrow as she answered, her voice soft but trembling with emotion, “You don’t understand the pain we’ve suffered while we waited for Melanie to return to us. The number of times our hopes were raised and dashed…Collins, to us, it doesn’t matter if our daughter remembers us or not. We just hope to see her, get to know her all over again and hope that she will be able to give us some space and accept us into her life.”
“It’s okay if she doesn’t remember anything,” Marianne Thomas said. “We’re not asking for the past to come back. We just… we want a chance to make new memories with her. To start fresh. She can get to know us again, and we can learn who our daughter has become.”
She looked at Adam, her eyes brimming. “You tell her that-we don’t expect anything from her. No obligations. Just a chance. That’s all we’re asking. Can you do that for us, Collins?”
As she spoke, tears slid down her cheeks- silent and unchecked, but she didn’t move to wipe them away. Her shoulders rose slightly with the effort of holding everything in, and though her face remained steady, her mouth twitched at the corners, as if even holding it together physically hurt as she continued,” As long as she does not hate us, we are willing to give her all the space and time she needs.”
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