"Is tonight the reason you've been so tense? We can talk now if you want..."
Adam shook his head and let out a quiet sigh before answering her, "Some things need to wait. I will talk to you, but not tonight."
A brief silence settled between them as both returned to their unspoken thoughts. Melanie turned her head to look out of the window. She didn't know why but because of the way Adam was right now and had been for the last couple of weeks, she somehow had a feeling that something big was going to happen. And soon.
Meanwhile, Adam's fingers tightened around the steering wheel and his knuckles turned slightly white from the pressure. After a moment, he spoke again, being careful to keep his voice neutral.
"If Spencer had truly loved you," he asked, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, "despite marrying you for the will... would you have forgiven him?"
Melanie turned her head sharply, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Her eyes widened slightly as she studied Adam's expression, searching for the reason behind his sudden inquiry. Of all things, she hadn't expected this.
Melanie hesitated for a moment as she considered his question. "I... I don't know," she admitted finally. "I didn't leave Spencer just because of love or the lack of it. There were a lot of other factors—things that went beyond just emotions and you know it well."
She pause and then continued, "But if you're asking whether I would have forgiven him after a betrayal? No."
The word was firm, without hesitation this time. As she said it, her thoughts drifted to her parents but she shut that thought down quickly.
Before she could dwell on it further, Adam's voice pulled her back.
"Huh," he mused, sounding genuinely surprised as he sent a glance her way. "I always thought you'd be the type to forgive too easily." He glanced at her briefly before adding, "You always foriave my mistakes."
Melanie rolled her eyes. "We're not in a relationship, Adam. Besides, yes, you've messed up, but at least when you did, you tried to make up for it. And you've never done something like that—something unforgivable."
Adam fell silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, with a serious tone, he asked, "So... we should never forgive mistakes from loved ones?"
Melanie shook her head. "That's not what I'm saying," she corrected. "Mistakes are one thing. But betrayal? That's different. We should never accept betrayal from the people we love."
Adam narrowed his eyes in thought and then asked slowly," What is this person who betrayed us did it under difficult circumstance?"
This time Melanie was truly shocked beyond words and also hesitant. He was not asking these questions out of general curiosity or for the sake of discussion. So, she put a lot of thought before answering slwoly, "Difficult circumstances... they can explain an action, but they don't justify it. If someone betrays you, no matter the reason, trust is broken. And trus is not something that can be easily put back together."
Adam smiled then and cast her a look before he asked,"I never knew you could be so rigid. And what if we hurt someone we love to protect ourselves?"
This time Melanie did not answer the question and instead said, "You really are making me worry with all these hypotheses."
Instead of explaining himself, Adam simply winked at her and kept his eyes on the road, his expression giving away nothing. The playful gesture did little to ease Melanie's unease, and she opened her mouth to press him further. She needed to know what was going on in this man's head.
Before she could, he smiled—a slow, knowing smile—and said, "We're here."
Melanie frowned slightly, momentarily distracted as she turned to look outside. They had indeed arrived at the hotel! Dam*! Did he time his questions in such a way so that she would not be able to cross question him?
As she was thinking things through, he'd already jumped off the car and was walking around to open the door for her.
"Come on," he murmured, extending a hand to her.
She hesitated, then placed her hand in his as she looked at his face.
"Is there something here? You are staring."
Melanie nodded and continued to look at him as he frowned and patted his face. There was something really on his face.
But then, Melanie spoke up," Well, you always have smugness on your face that makes one want to slap you but now you have some kind of anticipation o your face and I don't know wht that is."
His lips twitched then and he tried to wipe his face of all expressions," Thank you for yuor restraint in not slapping me, Melon. And I will try to keep the anticipation at bay."
"Meaning you are not going to tell me the reason for your weird behaviour?"
Before he could answer her, Melane realized that his attention had suddenly turned elsewhere.
Following his line of sight, Melanie turned her head slightly, wanting to look what it was that had caught his attention. And then she saw them.
Her eyebrows raised and then she could not help but murmur," Isn't that woman a little too young for your grandfather?"
She expected Adam to respond with his usual dry humor, maybe a sarcastic remark or a quip to deflect the situation, but he said nothing. His silence made her glance up at him, and that was when she noticed the way his entire posture had changed.
Melanie hadn't even been aware that the old man was dating someone so young—someone who looked close to her own age, if not younger. Maybe she was only speculating and she was only Robert Collins' date for tonight.
"Of course, she's young," he muttered, his teeth gritted. "She was my classmate in school."
Melanie's eyes widened slightly, but before she could say anything, he continued in that same tense voice, "And my first girlfriend."