Page 40 of The Island Villa

“Cassie would have been fine, I’m sure, if it hadn’t been for Adeline.”

“You’re saying this is my fault?” Adeline heard her voice lift. “Can you honestly not see why we might have been upset?”

“I can see. I know it’s hard,” her mother said, “but I was hoping that we could all sit down together at dinner and talk it through.”

“Catherine—” this time her father spoke firmly “—we’ve sprung this on them. It’s an adjustment.”

An adjustment? Adeline, who made a living out of finding the right words in stressful situations, couldn’t think of a thing to say. It was as if she’d been hit over the head with a hard object. Her brain was stunned. She had nothing.

“I don’t understand what there is to adjust to. I thought they’d be thrilled. Particularly you, Adeline.” Catherine glanced at Adeline, bemused. “You were distraught when your father and I divorced. For months, you cried yourself to sleep. You clung to me and begged us to get back together.”

“Stop.” Every word her mother spoke sent her pulse rate hammering faster. She was a child again, witnessing her safe, secure life falling apart. The last threads of control finally slipped from her grasp. “I beg you, stop.”

Why had she come? What had possessed her to come? Mark was right, she’d chosen to do this. She could have stayed away. She could have protected herself.

“All I’m saying is that this is what you wanted!” Her mother was defensive, as if she’d given Adeline the chocolate she’d asked for and now she’d changed her mind and asked for cake.

“It was what I wanted when I was eight years old!” All the emotions she’d been suppressing since the arrival of her mother’s letter bubbled to the surface. “You can’t turn back the clock and pretend nothing in the past happened. This isn’t one of your books! You can’t just edit out the bits you don’t like. You can’t delete a chapter and forget about it. It happened, and we’re all living with the fallout of that. And moving on doesn’t mean closing the door on it as if it’s a messy child’s bedroom that you’re trying to ignore...”

“Adeline...” Her father stepped toward her, and for the first time in her life she stepped back from him.

“Don’t.” She raised her hands to keep him at a distance. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. You must have known I’d be hurt and shocked and yet you let me walk into this situation with no warning.”

“Your mother wanted it this way.”

“I know you were thinking of my mother, but you used to think about me. My feelings used to matter to you.”

In indulging Catherine, he’d hurt his daughter and it felt like a deep betrayal. Her father was the one person in the world she’d allowed herself to love unconditionally. He’d always been there for her, and she’d been there for him through all of the pain Catherine had caused him. When he’d said I messed up, Adeline, I messed up over and over again she was the one who had reassured him that none of this was his fault. Inevitably, perhaps, they’d formed a tight bond and that bond had stayed firm over the years. They were there for each other. They were a team.

But apparently not.

She’d always felt protective of him, and despite everything she still felt protective of him. She wanted to sweep him away from her mother and ask him what he thought he was doing? She wanted to sit him down and try to understand how they’d reached this point. What her mother had said to make him think this was a good idea.

She couldn’t think clearly and her parents also seemed stuck for what to say next.

“I need to see Cassie,” Catherine said faintly. “I need to apologize for Adeline’s words.”

Adeline’s whole body felt numb. “I’ll make my own apology.”

Her mother seemed to relax a little. “Good. She’ll forgive you, I know, because she’s that type of person. She’s warm-hearted and generous. I’m sure when she calms down a little, she will realize you didn’t mean to hurt her. She’s not a sulker. Maybe she’ll be back in a moment, and then we can all put this behind us and drink a toast to new beginnings.”

They were supposed to sit down and drink a toast to celebrate what, in Adeline’s opinion, was probably the worst decision they’d ever made (and that was saying something), and pretend to be happy about it? And they thought Cassie would be back to join them? It was like playing a starring role in a fantasy and realizing that the cast were reading from different scripts.

No wonder her sister had chosen to remove herself from the situation.

She needed to do the same. And yes, she needed to apologize to Cassie.

Adeline had never seen her half sister distressed before. If she was the cause of that distress, then fixing that needed to be her priority.

“You two should eat, and toast whatever you want to toast.” She headed in the same direction as her sister, sidestepping as her mother tried to grab her arm.

“Adeline! Where are you going?”

“To find Cassie.”

“Oh, well good.” Her mother let her hand drop. “I hope you’ll persuade her to come straight back with you.”

“I won’t be coming back. Please pass my apologies to Maria.”

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