"You were free to make a choice. You're a man, for Merlin's sake! You could go anywhere and do whatever you please without needing a farce to protect a consequence. So yes, actually, I call that freedom." With reluctance, Odina locked her arms tight across her chest to keep from hexing, throwing, or some other form of damaging the now-pacing Beau.
"She should be thanking me! You being dense, I can see, but if she doesn't appreciate my keeping you out of this, then you can both fuck off, thank you kindly." Her intent to let Beau return home with all limbs attached was rapidly diminishing. "I know women, you fool, and if she's somehow changed beyond understanding how wrong this all could go if another woman appeared with your child, then you aren't half as clever as I thought." The idea of Eva being upset that she wasn't waltzing in with another child when she was due with a child of her own was maddening. If Beau's wife couldn't make sense of it, a mother should see sense. There wasn't half a brain between the pair. They were meant for each other.
"You could start by keeping the pity to yourself. I didn't bring you here so you could whine like a child. You're here so that I can make something very clear to you: my son doesn't need the confusion or you getting any bright ideas about telling him who you are. It's bad enough that he knows you and ask questions. He has no other ties to America, save the people he considers grandparents and, frankly, if I could keep them away, I would." No matter how long she played at this charade, she was never going to have the love for the Harpers her son, or her parents, ever had. Were it not for their money sustaining her; she would have been gone years ago.
"At some point, I'll run out of reasons to keep him from the zoo, and he will eventually be old enough to make his own choices. I won't be able to protect him from everything, but I'm not going to introduce him to a father so that he can lose what little future he has. If you learn anything between this moment and the birth of your legitimate baby, learn that what you want, what you planned, rarely happens. Of all people, I thought you'd understand that." The scrapper in her brought her to her feet at some point, staying seated with Beau looking ready to kill, not setting well with any of her survival senses.
"For the friendship we had, I'm sorry this hurts you, Bear. I really am, but I love my son. I would burn any and all friendships, all happiness to see him safe. If you don't understand that, then don't you dare judge my decisions." It was a dangerous thing, to square off with a bear, but there was no other way.
"She should be thanking me! You being dense, I can see, but if she doesn't appreciate my keeping you out of this, then you can both fuck off, thank you kindly." Her intent to let Beau return home with all limbs attached was rapidly diminishing. "I know women, you fool, and if she's somehow changed beyond understanding how wrong this all could go if another woman appeared with your child, then you aren't half as clever as I thought." The idea of Eva being upset that she wasn't waltzing in with another child when she was due with a child of her own was maddening. If Beau's wife couldn't make sense of it, a mother should see sense. There wasn't half a brain between the pair. They were meant for each other.
"You could start by keeping the pity to yourself. I didn't bring you here so you could whine like a child. You're here so that I can make something very clear to you: my son doesn't need the confusion or you getting any bright ideas about telling him who you are. It's bad enough that he knows you and ask questions. He has no other ties to America, save the people he considers grandparents and, frankly, if I could keep them away, I would." No matter how long she played at this charade, she was never going to have the love for the Harpers her son, or her parents, ever had. Were it not for their money sustaining her; she would have been gone years ago.
"At some point, I'll run out of reasons to keep him from the zoo, and he will eventually be old enough to make his own choices. I won't be able to protect him from everything, but I'm not going to introduce him to a father so that he can lose what little future he has. If you learn anything between this moment and the birth of your legitimate baby, learn that what you want, what you planned, rarely happens. Of all people, I thought you'd understand that." The scrapper in her brought her to her feet at some point, staying seated with Beau looking ready to kill, not setting well with any of her survival senses.
"For the friendship we had, I'm sorry this hurts you, Bear. I really am, but I love my son. I would burn any and all friendships, all happiness to see him safe. If you don't understand that, then don't you dare judge my decisions." It was a dangerous thing, to square off with a bear, but there was no other way.