A Journey from Bitterness to Truth

Keaton’s hand twitched as he reached for the last slice of pizza, and it flopped back onto his plate with a splat.

Adriah realized how flirty his comment had sounded the moment it left his lips, and he hurried to change the subject. “Anyway, if you remember me, feel free to drop by during Christmas and bring me a gift, as a token of respect, you know.”

Logan’s grin was sly as a fox. “Got it. Are you, by any chance, crushing on my mom?”

Adrian jumped up as if he’d sat on a firecracker, his usually composed face a mask of sheer panic. “What? No way! I’m loaded, I’m a looker, why would I be hurting for female attention? I’m definitely not into your mom, kid. Don’t flatter yourself!”

“Oh, really?” Logan scooped up a spoonful of cream soup and took a casual slurp. “Well, good news for you, my mom isn’t into you either, so you can relax.”

Adrian felt like he’d been shot in the chest.

Keaton was cracking up beside them. “Let me tell you, Uncle Adrian’s a real piece of work, almost on par with your dad, Yvan. Don’t let his smooth talk fool you.”

Adrian tossed a breadstick in Keaton’s direction. “You really have to throw me under the bus like that?”

Logan nodded solemnly. “I know! My mom told me you used to pick on her.”

That wasn’t him being mean, he just thought back then she was so delicate he wanted to tease her a bit… besides, she looked kind of cute flustered and all!

Adrian, with a thick skin, defended himself, “I was just… testing her character.”

“You made her cry before.”

The more he talked, the more embarrassed he felt…

“My mom really doesn’t have the best impression of you, so if you’re thinking of chasing after her, it’s gonna be tough,” Logan said, chewing on the end of his breadstick with a look of mock seriousness. “That’s what you get for being so nasty at first.”

Nasty? That was nothing compared to his ruthless moments! Comparatively, he was at saint to Matilda; he hadn’t even done anything to her yet!

Adrian made excuses to himself, unsure whom he was trying to comfort. “Women say one thing but mean another.”

Logan shot him down without hesitation. “No, my mom actually really dislikes you.”

Adrian thought this kid would be the death of him.

Keston, still chuckling, patted Logan’s cheek. “How can you be so adorable, managing to Teave Adrian speechless?” Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Logan tilted his head up proudly. “That’s because my mom raised me right!”

Well done, Matilda! Adrian silently applauded her for raising such a sharp kid.

Adrian asked, “Are you gonna eat or what? If not, time for bed. You need to heal for a couple of weeks, and then what? You gonna come clean to your mom?”

Logan replied fearlessly, “Of course, I’ll tell the truth, no matter how grim.”

“Tsk tsk,” Keaton shook his head. “I feel sorry for Yvan. If Matilda finds out about this, she probably won’t want to see him for the rest of her life.”

Logan quickly countered, “He brought this on himself, so he doesn’t deserve sympathy.”

Adrian and Keaton, two grown men, fell silent at the steadfast look in Logan’s eyes. It took Adrian a long while to collect himself before he spoke. “You’re too extreme, kid. That’s gonna lead to rash decisions later in life.”

Logan’s laugh broke the tension, and even though it was filled with shards of light, it was clear. “But my extreme nature is his creation.”

Silenced by the weight of the boy’s words, Adrian and Keaton could do nothing but reflect on the sins of one man, Yvan, whose guilt was too heavy to bear alone.