Chapter 6 - Be a lioness

With a flowing movement, Alexandre reached for the bottle of red wine. He poured a glass and pushed it to Lily. "I think a sip helps to calm the nerves." Before he poured a second glass for himself.

With a shaky hand she reached out for the glass and sipped it suspiciously. She could barely taste the wine. Her nerves were numb. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. While her head was empty. She knew she needed to concentrate now. But with each attempt to form a thought, her brain cells refused to work.

"Lily, you do not need to be afraid." His voice sounded somehow hypnotizing, reminding her of that snake Kaa from the jungle book. "I just want to help you." He looked so cool, calm, and serene . "For days I've been looking for you and little Adrien."

Her expression stiffened suddenly.

He looked at her. For seconds.

Without a word.

He looked at her with that grin that squeezed icy sweat out of her pores.

Lily's breath caught.

What did he mean, he was looking for Adrien and her for days. They hid in Stuttgart only two days ago.

Alexandre cleared his throat. "I think we should order something. With a full stomach, thinking is much easier." His mouth turned back to that grin. Hard. Mockingly. And somehow amused.

Lily nodded woodenly and reached for the menu next to her.

A knot of nausea had been in her throat for a while, actually she was not hungry, but she needed time. Time to think. So she opened the menu and was looking bored for something to eat. Most of the dishes she didn't even know.

Suddenly Adrien straightened up in her lap and rubbed his cheek against hers like a tired kitten.

He looked at her with his azure eyes that reminded her of an innocent puppy. She stroked his tiny back soothingly.

"Spaghetti." It was nothing more than a whisper, as soft as a single breeze. If she did not know that the little guy was longing for a portion of spaghetti, she would have thought his whispering was just a fabrication of her imagination. Helpless, the girl nodded before the boy could hide his face again. Her heart was in her throat. She knew she had to pull herself together. She was not allowed to bury her head in the ground. She had the responsibility for both of them.

Now she was his mother.

She was a mother.

Mothers were strong.

Like a lioness if she had to defend her boy.

She was a lioness now. Not a rabbit.

All she had to do was find her claws.

She knew she had them.

Carefully, she put the menu back on the table, leaned forward a little and drew Adrien closer. She took a deep and slow breath. "Two servings of spaghetti .... Please." But she was shocked by the defiance in her voice. The defiance that reminded her of a little girl's whimpering because someone had taken her lollipop. But her voice did not sound like that of a strong and independent lioness who would wage her own battles. She would have to practice that, she decided.

His eyes showed amusement.

She was like a little kitten.

He leaned back with a disinterested expression before calling for the waiter.

As he ordered, he kept glancing over her. His arrogance and confidence dripped from every single pore.

With skillful hand movements he loosened the silver tie and opened the button on the collar of his white shirt.

Alexandre was taller and more attractive than any man she knew. Even Fabien, the male lead was not as stunning as his brother.

He had a face like a Greek god. Breathtaking. With those beautiful sparkling gray eyes that are more reminiscent of liquid silver than genetically realistic gray eyes. His eyebrows looked like night-black lines whose inflection gave him something dangerous. And his nose. God, his nose! Straight. As chiseled! Beneath it was a sensual mouth with that toothpaste smile from ads, revealing his gleaming white teeth. And his hair. Hair through which every girl wants to stroke her fingers. Jet black. Unruly. His haircut gave him something daring.

Wow! Lily could barely withstand his gaze.

She took another sip of wine. Still she could not taste anything. But she nearly had a heart attack. This world was not fair. Everywhere she looked there were only beautiful people. Everywhere.

The problem with the whole thing was that her low self-esteem drifted into nothingness, as if it did not exist when beautiful people were present.

Sometimes she had problems with looking at herself. Every day, after looking in the mirror, Lily had doubts about her humanity. There was no morning she didn't have a heart attack.

This world sucked.

Secretly, she guessed that the author was some thirty-five-year-old who wanted to overcome decades of sexless life with her work.

Lily's thoughts died as she caught Alexandre's gaze. She tried to resist him and scraped all her remaining confidence together. She lifted her chin a little higher, straightened her shoulders and tried to control her restlessness.

"May I know why the great Alexandre de Valois has been searching for me and my son for days." Lily tried to sound strong.

"I wanted to know how my nephew is doing." Alexandre bowed his head and studied the little kitten in front of him before saying another word.

"And I have a deal in my pocket. Sounds interesting. Right, Lily."