Chapter 333
Adam’s wheelchair folled across the lawn toward the waiting car, his parents walking beside him. Tensina frung between them after the family dinner.
“All I’m saying,” Sophia broke the silence, fidgeting with her bracelet is that there are plenty of suitable women who’d kill to
“Mom, stop.” Adam didn’t look up. There’s nothing going on between me and Irene. Drop it.
“The entire country club won’t shut up about it.” Sophia’s voice edged higher. After that mess with the Wright girl-
“Irene’s working her tail off to fix my legs, Adam cut in, his voice deadly quiet. “So maybe cool if with the snide comments about my doctor, okay? It’s not a good look on you.”
Sophia’s mouth snapped shut like a trap. She gripped Marcus’s arm tighter, eyes dropping to study her son’s dark hair, the stubborn set of his shoulders.
Something had shifted in Adam–a subtle change she couldn’t quite name. For the first time, Sophia questioned her own judgment. Samantha had ticked every box on her mental checklist for the perfect daughter–in–law. Yet beneath that polished veneer lurked a woman who’d hire thugs to attack a rival.
“Makes you wonder how many more wolves are hiding in designer suits,” she muttered.
Marcus squeezed her hand. The gesture said everything his words didn’t: I’ve already accepted his choice. Maybe it’s time you did too.
“All set?” Thomas asked as Adam slid into the car.
“Take them home first,” Adam said, already checking his emails.
As they pulled away, Adam’s thoughts drifted back to Irene. The sooner he could walk again, the sooner he could deal with this mess properly. Until then, he’d just have to run interference–keep the sharks away from her and those kids.
The clock on Adam’s phone showed nearly eight when the car turned onto Emerald Garden’s quiet streets. “He’s here!” Lucas’s nose smudged the living room window as headlights swept across the front lawn. “Uncle Adam’s back!*
The front door flew open before Thomas had even killed the engine. Three small bodies rocketed down the steps like they’d been launched from a cannon.
“They’ve been watching for your car for the last hour,” Irene called from the doorway, arms crossed against the evening chill.
Adam’s face softened–just a hint, just around the edges–as the kids swarmed him.
“We måde cookies!” Lucas announced. “Grandpa said they’re edible this time!”
“I put in the chocolate chips!” Lily beamed. “The biggest ones are yours!”
Adam nodded once. “Thanks.”
His stomach was still full from the tense family dinner, but somehow the thought of disappointing these kids seemed worse than forcing down another bite of food.
“We’re pushing!” Alex declared, already grabbing one handle of the wheelchair.
“No fair, you pushed last time!” Lucas protested, shoving his brother side.
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Chapter 333
“Everybody gets a side!” Lily wedged herself between them, ending the argument before it started.
Thomas found himself unceremoniously dismissed, standing alone in the driveway as the kids took over his job.
“They’ve been plotting this ambush since dinner,” Irene said, descending the steps. The porch light caught the gold flecks in her eyes as she met Adam’s gaze. Something unspoken passed between them–a silent acknowledgment of how bizarre and yet perfectly right this felt.
Irene’s home hit him with a wall of warmth the moment he crossed the threshold. Not calculated elegance, but actual lived–in comfort–books stacked on side tables, a forgotten sweater draped over a chair, and photos everywhere. So many candid smiles frozen in time.
“Thank god you’re here!” Brandon practically leapt from his seat at the chess table. “The old man’s wiping the floor with me.”
Joseph’s eyes crinkled with mischief. “Giving up already?”
“Strategic retreat.” Brandon surrendered his spot to Adam. “Your move, hotshot.”
Adam scanned the board, immediately mapping the disastrous position Brandon had created. Within five moves, he’d flipped a near- certain loss into aggressive offense, his fingers moving pieces with surgical precision.
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