My Mother's Husband

Chapter 3

Roman's POV

I lifted my gaze slowly as I heard her approaching. The maid, Mrs. Crawford, was just done setting the dinner table.

"I'll take it from here," I said to her.

Bowing her head slightly, Mrs. Crawford turned and left. She bowed again as she walked past Resse. Resse barely acknowledged it, her gaze locked on mine. Her eyes were a little puffy and her previously scattered hair was now pulled together into a ponytail. Dressed in a black tailored pants and black sweatshirt, she looked every bit like someone who was mourning.

Yet, she looked as beautiful as ever. I felt something twist inside me at that realization. Something I didn't want to confront. Save for the muffled tap of her sock-covered feet on the marbled floor, the dining area was enveloped by a tense silence. There was a hint of defiance in her demeanor as she approached, like someone who had plans to make trouble.

I wasn't going to let her.

I stole a glance at the watch on my wrist. "You kept to time."

She looked at me once and said nothing. Settling gracefully into the cushioned chair at the opposite end of the long table, she sniffed slightly. Since Mrs. Crawford had taken her time to dish out the food, we started eating immediately. Resse focused all her attention on the food as she lifted morsels of lamb chops to her mouth in slow, calculated movements.

I broke the silence after a few minutes.

"How was France?"

She paused with her fork in her mouth, casting an unfriendly glance at me. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

I stiffened at the malice in her tone. But rather than let her see how I was affected by her rude response, I trained my lips into a smile. "There's no need to be hostile, you know? Afterall, we're going to be sharing the same space for months."

"The same house," she corrected sharply. "I'm either blind or I didn't see anywhere in the will that Rosa stated that I have to be around you during my stay here. Or did you?"

My blood froze as I heard my late wife's name. "I won't tolerate you talking about your mother like that."

She leveled me with a taunting gaze. "What will you do about it? Take away my inheritance?"

"No. But I can make your stay here much more inconvenient," I said coolly.

She shot to her feet, eyes blazing. "Just what the hell is it with you, Roman? What do you gain from trying to make my life miserable?"

"I'm only doing what Rosa demanded of me," I answered, my gaze firmly fixed on hers.

Her eyes narrowed with angry curiosity. "Which is?"

"Watching over you. In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only parental figure you have left. And I'm going to make Rosa proud by making sure you grow to become the woman she wants you to be."

"New flash: I don't need you." She spelt the words out for effect.

Huffing angrily, she whipped around and stormed away.

"Reese!" I called out, although a part of me wasn't expecting a response. It was hard for me not to notice the aggressive sway of her well molded ass as she disappeared into the hallway.

After her departure, I finished dinner alone. My blood was still running with adrenaline from our exchange as I continued eating in silence.

Reese hadn't always been like that. I could vividly remember her as a sweet little kid when I'd first gotten married to Rosa years ago. She was jolly and full of life, always with a smile and an armory of questions. Until she started changing. At first, Rosa and I dismissed it as her growing older. But the night she threw words at me that cut deep into my skin was the day I was forced to face what later became the new state of things between us. No amount of reprimand and advice from Rosa and I could get her to stop. Eventually, we shipped her off to France for school and not once did I hear from her in the three years she spent there. But now she's back. And there's no Rosa to try to ease the tension between us.

It was just the two of us. I would make sure she accepted that.

When I finally left the dining area, over an hour later, I headed for Reese's room, my thoughts shuttling between her and all the things I still needed to get done around the estate. In between all that, I also had to confront the ache that had occupied a permanent space in my heart ever since the moment that I received the news about Rosa's death.

On getting to the door of Reese's room, I slowed to a stop. I knocked on the door once and waited. After a few moments without a response, I gave the door a firmer knock. "Reese."

Silence.

When she still didn't respond after the third knock, I turned to go. But I only took one step before I turned back suddenly and acted on the urge to open the door and let myself in.

An empty room welcomed me.

"Resse."

No answer. Only absolute silence in the unfamiliar space of the large room. It had been years since I'd last been there, despite the fact that it was in the same house I'd lived in during that time. Glancing around once, I took my leave, wondering where Reese could have gone. She could be anywhere in the spacious house.

However, I didn't need to search for long before I found her seated behind the desk in her mother's study.

Fury rose quickly inside me as I saw the papers and books scattered across the usually well arranged desk. Rosa had always been particular about her space being neat and orderly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growled.

Instead of the sharp response that would naturally come from Reese, she simply brought her gaze up. Her face was a mask of pure confusion. She looked like a scared child that had stumbled upon something that she knew she wasn't supposed to.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

Her hand came up slowly. I shifted my gaze in that direction to see a leatherbound book clutched in her fingers. My face creased into a light frown.

I had gone through Rosa's belongings more times than I could count.

I'd never come across that book.

Not even once.