Page 96 of Outcast’s Vow

“The house is fine, Baptiste. No complaints.”

“I want to see for myself,” he says. “You never admit to any problems. I’ll go, and you two talk among yourselves.”

He stomps away.

“Baptiste bought this home for me,” Mina admits to me once her son and his nervous energy are out of the way.

“Really?”

“It was the house we rented when he was growing up,” she explains. “I couldn’t afford to buy it back then, but when Baptiste first landed with good money, this was his first purchase. He’s always trying to dump me somewhere fancier and flashier, but I’ll never leave this place. This is my home, despite his best intentions.”

Baptiste’s voice echoes from upstairs.

“I can still hear you.”

“You’ve probably met all of his girlfriends through the years,” I say to her.

Mina laughs.

“Not a single one. You must be special, Sylvie.”

“I am his wife.”

“And Baptiste wouldn’t have made that choice lightly.”

The way she nods at me. It’s like a signal. Like recognition. And there’s something else behind her smile. Something only two women like us could understand.

Don’t hurt him, Sylvie.

And I want her to know I won’t.

“Can I ask you a personal question, Sylvie?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“What do you see in him?”

I let out a nervous laugh.

“That’s very direct.”

“I don’t like beating around the bush. What do you see in my son, Sylvie?”

I pause and think for a moment. His mother deserves the truth.

“I see a man who will always do what he promises,” I say. “A man who’s loyal and protective and who doesn’t stop at anything to help the ones he loves. A fierce, capable, stubborn-as-hell man.”

Mina takes a sip of her coffee and smiles.

“Stubborn-as-hell. I like that, Sylvie. I think you and I see with the same eyes.”

There’s another stomp, and Baptiste appears.

“All to your satisfaction?” Mina asks him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He nods.

Mina gestures toward me.