Then came Julian Moretti. He was the one who had stayed quietly by my side, steady and present, until he became the only light in my life. I fell for him. I surrendered to it. I even believed he would be the person I could lean on for the rest of my days. But in the end, I discovered that tenderness was a lie too.
The truth was simple. Everyone in this world who claimed to love, none of them had ever loved me.
I let out a low, hollow laugh, turned off my phone, and didn't look at the messages again. It didn't matter. After this birthday feast, the next time I saw Adrian Lennox and Adrian Ashford would be the last.
The following morning, I arrived at the celebration alongside Adrian Winslow and Julian Moretti. We boarded the lavishly decorated Family cruiser together. The moment we appeared, Adrian Lennox and Adrian Ashford came forward with wide smiles.
They walked straight to Adrian Winslow and Julian Moretti, leaving me standing to the side as though I were empty air.
"Our darling girl, it's been so long since you've called your parents. You don't even ask how we're doing. Come here, let your mother look at you. Have you gotten thinner?"
The words sounded like scolding, but the tone was pure indulgence.
Adrian Winslow laughed and threw herself into their arms. Julian Moretti stood just beside them, his gaze warm. The three of them together looked like a portrait of a family.
And I stood apart, as though I were nobody. A stranger who'd wandered onto the wrong deck.
"Happy birthday, Lennox."
I stepped forward and offered the gift I'd spent weeks preparing. It was a painting I'd paid a considerable price for, a piece by an artist Adrian Lennox had admired for years.
Adrian Lennox and Adrian Ashford finally spared me a glance. A flat acknowledgment, a wave of the hand. One of the compound staff took the box. It wasn't even opened. It was set directly onto the pile with everything else.
I watched the whole thing. My heart was perfectly still.
Then Adrian Winslow stepped up with the tin of tea she'd brought, her voice breezy and light. "Happy birthday, Daddy. I just grabbed this on a whim. It's probably nothing special, so don't hold it against me."
Adrian Lennox and Adrian Ashford took it immediately, unwrapping it on the spot, turning the tin over in their hands, their smiles deepening with every second.