Page 139 of As the World Falls

The woman’s gaze drops to our interlocked arms and then back to Cecilia only. “Yes,” she says, still never acknowledging me. “Lance mentioned you were having a little fall fling.”

What the hell is a fall fling?

Cecilia’s hand taps me as if she knows I am close to losing my cool, but I don’t accept her warning. “You must’ve heard wrong,” I speak up finally. “Not only has she moved in with me, but we plan on marrying. The way I love her completely surpasses anything in the vicinity of a fling.”

Cecilia’s head snapped to look at me, but I paid her no attention. The woman lets out an incredulous breath as she looks at me. “Are you calling my son a liar?” she challenges.

“Ah,” I call out in realization. “You’re the mother. Makes sense.”

She lifts her chin to me. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You both have the same…delusional air about you.”

“James,” Cecilia interjects. “Let’s relax a little.”

“Well, Cecilia,” Lance’s mom turns back to her. “I would have expected, if not my son, then it would at least be someone respectful and noble.”

I laugh at the mention of nobility as Cecilia lets go of me and steps toward her. “With all due respect, Mrs. Reynolds, there’s no reason to be nasty. James has been more respectful to me in the last few weeks than Lance.”

“How dare you!” she spits out.

“Mom?” Lance calls out, finally noticing the chaos. “What are you doing here?” She tucks her purse further into her side and feigns an innocent expression. The change in demeanor made me want to throw the desk across the room, preferably in their direction.

“Well, you told me how things with Cecilia have been rocky lately, and I thought I’d come check in on things, maybe offer some guidance, but her little fling over here got testy with me and?—”

“Call me fling one more time,” I seethed. Cecilia touches my arm to relax me, but it only partly works.

“Okay, that’s not what happened,” Cecilia chimes in, looking at Lance. “Your mom was rude to James first.”

“They were being inappropriate at the desk. It unnerved me,” she replies.

Lance faces Cecilia. “What is he even doing here? Are you trying to rub it in my face that you chose him?”

Cecilia blanches, the hurt evident in her features. “I’m not trying to. I?—”

“That’s what it looked like to me,” Lance’s mom adds. “Honestly, Cecilia, you’re smarter than this. Slumming it with the likes of him.”

I look at Cecilia, who gives me an apologetic expression. “Does she not know who I am?”

Cecilia presses her lips together hard before answering. “I don’t think she cares.”

“Mom, come on. You’re causing a scene,” Lance cuts in.

“I don’t care,” she grouses, waving her arms now. “When my baby calls me with his heart broken, I’m going to come down here and do something about it.” Suddenly, it’s like her face takes on an evil expression, vile hate oozing out of her pores as she fixes her glare on Cecilia. “How could you do this? Lance opened his heart up to you, just for you to stomp on it. How could you lead him on this way?”

“You need to quit yelling in my library,” Cecilia grounds out, her tone thickening. I stand straighter at the sound of it, liking it way more than I should. “If you don’t act appropriately, I’ll…I’ll have Marco escort you out.”

She glances at Marco, straightening herself as he curls his hands into fists, watching her back. “Who is he?”

“Her bodyguard,” I tell her. “You know, since she’s slumming it.”

“Okay, everyone, relax,” Cecilia cuts in again. “Mrs. Reynolds, although this isn’t the place nor time to discuss this, I’m sorry I hurt Lance’s feelings. Maybe I did lead him on. I don’t know, but if I did, I didn’t mean to. But for the sake of argument, he didn’t start making his feelings clear until I was already becoming involved with James. I never wanted to hurt him, but I am in a serious relationship now. We love each other and now live together, so please, if you can’t respect that, then we have nothing left to talk about.”

Lance’s shocked expression bounces between Cecilia and me. “You guys live together?”

Cecilia wraps her arms around herself before nodding. “He asked me to move in, and I said yes.”

Lance sharply exhales as he nods at the floor, then turns to face his mom. “It’s time to go, Mom. You should have never come here like this.”

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