Page 4 of Seeds of Sorrow

“Hadina,” Peyton mumbled to herself.

Chapter3

PEYTON

Groaningas the alarm startled her awake, Peyton crawled out of bed and made her way into the adjoining en-suite bathroom. She stared at the claw-foot tub in the center of the gray tiled floor. She used to love soaking in a bubble bath when she was younger, letting the heat of the water soak any stress from her bones. But her college apartment only had a shower that went from scalding hot to freezing cold in a matter of minutes—definitely not a fun experience.

Peyton padded into the bathroom, debating whether the half hour she had left herself to get ready for dinner was long enough to draw a bath. Deciding against it, she took a step towards the modernized shower in the corner of the room. Peyton could only imagine that touch was something Hadina must have installed into the house—the extravagant showerhead and various products lined neatly against the shelves.

Did this used to be her room? One of her sisters’?

It made Peyton shiver to think about as she turned on the shower and stripped off the clothes that smelled after such a long drive. Once the water was at the perfect temperature, she stepped into the luxurious shower and let the water coat every inch of her skin. She decided to ignore the heat in her cheeks while she showered, blaming it on the heat of the water and definitely not the recurring thoughts of Hadina in a similar position.

She barely registered how much time had passed before she heard the faint knock on her bedroom door.

“Miss Dimitra, it’s five o’clock. I assume you’re ready?”

Peyton swore under her breath and turned off the shower, wringing out her hair in the process. “Um, just a minute, sorry!”

By the time she had chosen an outfit—a simple pair of black jeans and a loose-fitting sweater that hung off one shoulder—and made it out of the room, Hadina was leaning against the wall outside, tapping furiously into her phone. She looked up when she heard the door click shut, running her eyes over Peyton before finishing her text.

“You’re late.”

The coolness in her voice made Peyton shiver and she glanced at Hadina apologetically. “I know. I’m really sorry. I decided to shower and lost track of time.”

Hadina hummed and pushed off the wall, walking ahead as Peyton rushed to follow her. Hadina had changed for dinner too, opting to wear a pair of navy sailor pants with a tight black top, complemented by a matching blazer. Peyton gaped after the woman while they walked, wishing she could ask her new boss to teach her how to dress so elegantly.

Leading her into the huge dining room, Hadina pointed for Peyton to take a seat while she poured two glasses of wine from a corked bottle on the side table. Sliding into her allocated seat, Peyton took the glass Hadina extended to her and sipped the sweet alcohol.

“Where’s Don?”

“He’s coming. He was on a call with my sister,” Hadina answered as she took a drink of her own wine. Her phone was on the table and Peyton could see the flood of notifications across the screen.

She nodded at the device. “Do you need to get those?”

The faintest hint of a smile crossed Hadina’s lips before she steeled her face into a look of smooth composure once more. “I should, yes. But I rather think the nuisances can wait an hour until we eat.”

Peyton hated to admit how impressed she was by that, and almost said so, but a familiar voice filled the room and she couldn’t help bouncing from her seat and wrapping her arms around the man who had already given her so much. “Don!”

The old man laughed and patted her back, returning the embrace. “Hello,cariño, fancy seeing you here.”

Peyton had tears in her eyes when she pulled away to smile at him. “It’s really good to see you. I can’t thank you enough for having me here.”

He chuckled and took his seat at the head of the table, winking at Hadina. “Hola, mija. I take it you got Peyton settled in all right?”

Hadina smiled warmly at her father and poured him a glass of bourbon from the decanter on the table. “Quite. But I did have some work to attend to, so it’s not like I had time to babysit.”

Don ‘tsked’ at Hadina and gave her a sharp look while Peyton pretended to be very interested in her wine. “Don’t be so rude.”

Looking over at Peyton, Hadina fixed her with a fake grin, her eyes cold and narrowed. “Peyton knows I was just joking,Papi. Don’t you, Peyton?”

Trying not to choke, Peyton quickly schooled her features into a polite smile and nodded, patting Don on the back of the hand. “We’re adults. A friendly jibe here and there should be expected.”

Hadina quirked a brow again and watched Peyton like she was an oddity to be studied. Even when the food was brought out and placed on the table, all three of them scooping greens onto their plates, Peyton could feel that cool gaze focused on her. She tried not to squirm under the woman’s obvious scrutiny.

* * *

Dinner passedby in flashes of food, good wine, and hysterical laughing at Don’s anecdotes of life. Hadina, poised and composed, even threw her head back and laughed more than once, her eyes lighting up when she looked at her father. It made food settle weirdly in Peyton’s gut as she saw them together, their bond, and remembered that she had lost that with her own father years before. Grief could ruin anything, it seemed.

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