Maxwell stood up proudly, his chest bursting with love for his wife.
"Come on. I'll show you your room."
Bonnie followed him, and as soon as she entered the room, she heard Maxwell's footsteps moving away. She hadn't brought her suitcases. They were all in the hotel Adam had stayed in. She knew he had changed his mind at the last minute, because of the child. She knew that the boy would be a hindrance to her. Adam would never give up on him. She should have given him a son. He had shown several times that he wanted to be a father, especially when he asked his men to take the children to the mansion in their free time and spent a lot of time with them, having fun while talking to them. She knew she couldn't compete with something like that, and would have to withdraw and take a back seat in Adam's life, but she would never allow him to abandon her. They were each other's, forever. Even if Anna came back with him, and she knew she would. Adam would take Anna to Nevada, even if she was dragged by the hair.
Bonnie removed her clothes and lay down naked. She was going to wait up for Adam and do what she had promised.
Anna put on a red sweater, which she knew was Maxwell's favorite, and lay down without covering herself. He soon joined her. And as she predicted, he couldn't resist, and the two of them fell in love in the silence of the night. Afterwards, exhausted but sleepless, they held each other as if they were one, and had the conversation they couldn't have had in Adam's presence.
"I'm proud of you, Anna."
"Don't be."
"Why not?"
"Because I'll disappoint him."
"Are you thinking of leaving with him?"
"No. But I don't know how long I can hold out until I break that Bonnie's nose."
Maxwell laughed, but then his face turned grim.
"Your father should have warned us that Adam was on his way."
"I don't think he knew..."
"Don't be naive, Anna. He has people watching Adam's every move, as well as detectives. Even if someone in the house didn't know about Adam's plans, which I doubt, your father's detectives would have warned him that Adam was at the airport. Your father put our son's life in danger. I wonder what he was thinking."
"We need to keep up the charade that we still live here, and that we only have Ian, or I fear for our family's safety. What's more, Dad could be Adam's ally in all this, if you're right, and he really knew Adam was coming."
"He wouldn't risk Ian's life. He must have known Adam was coming, and made sure we were protected, only he didn't warn us. I don't think he'd be allied with a man who could take away his most precious possession."
"Yes. It's still a strange attitude. Speaking of strange attitudes... You left me in the room with them for far too long. What were you doing?"
"I went to warn my mothers and our bodyguards that they shouldn't see anyone because Adam was here. I needed to protect my mothers and our other children. So your father should be here early tomorrow morning, and then we'll find out what reasons he had for not warning us.
"You thought fast. But I'm afraid Ian will say something about his brothers. He's very young and he might tell Adam, or even Bonnie, in an ordinary conversation."
"We'll say that he calls his friends at nursery his brothers. That's easy to get around. I hope Adam doesn't stay long. I won't go to work while he's here."
"You can't do that. We need to act indifferent, and pretend to carry on living our routine. If Adam gets a whiff of fear in us, he'll use it against us."
"Maybe you're right, but I don't want to leave you alone with him."
"As I said, Dad will be here as soon as possible. He won't stay at home knowing that his grandson and I are in danger."
"I hope you're right."
"Max... There's something I need from Adam."
Maxwell's eyes turned dark.
"Don't say that."
"He made reference to my mother's origins. He must know things about her. I want all the information he can give me."
Maxwell knew the secret of Anna's family, but the mystical part, the part that no one should talk about until it manifested itself, and he regretted that he hadn't thought to find out more about her mother's family, as people. As humans.
"You can ask your father."
"I already asked him and he was evasive, as if it didn't matter anymore, and changed the subject every time I sought information from him."
"We can get a detective to find out. Everything Adam knows, we can know, too. Why didn't you tell me you were curious before?"
"Because it welled up in my chest during Ian's party."
"What happened to make you remember your mother?"
"Adam. I looked at Ian and saw Adam. And soon after, he showed up here at the house. And that's not all. Before I knew I was pregnant, I saw our children playing on the scales in the park in the garden of the mansion.
Maxwell sat down. That was the manifestation of the mist!
"Why did you keep this from me?"
Anna was about to answer when they heard Adam's altered, slurred voice. The security guards must have been searching him. For a few minutes, they remained in suspense. Then they heard the door to the room open and the footsteps of two people. Probably one of the security guards had gone to take him to his room.
"I'm worried about Ian..." Anna whispered.
"Don't worry. There are two bodyguards armed with silver projectiles sleeping with him in his room. They'll be with him the whole time.
Anna then closed her eyes to sleep, but Bonnie exaggerated her moans, and she blushed violently. She was embarrassed for her, because she knew Adam was good, but not to that extent. Now, if she got into bed with Maxwell... Then she would understand what a legitimate scandal was. Maxwell knew how to give pleasure, and he was very good at it. She herself hadn't been able to resist a few times, and she knew she should have made a scandal too. But what Bonnie was doing was just theater. And he felt sorry for her. When Adam, after a while, entered her theater, and started calling her Anna in a drunken voice. That was one of the worst humiliations she had ever heard. She looked at Maxwell, with a look of shame on her face, and when she saw the amused expression on his face, and the smile that sprang to his lips, she forgot her shame and smiled too.