Page 25 of Please Hate Me

“We don’t do grace,” Cameron finally answered.

“Aren’t you a pastor?” Sebastian snorted.

Cameron shrugged, then reached for the box of sweet and sour pork. Sebastian’s gaze narrowed, but he softened instantly as Mason pulled him in to whisper again. She spoke English to me when she first came into the house, so I knew Sebastian couldn’t be translating for her. Why was she doing this?

Lucian cleared his throat before standing, not bothering to push his chair in as he left the table. Lucian didn’t have a tolerance for this kind of stuff, and I had seriously ticked him off before Masie and Sebby even came down. I assumed he was about to stomp off to his room and not come out until tomorrow. But to my surprise, he placed his hands on the back of Mason’s chair and pulled her away from Sebby, scooting it into the space he’d been sitting in moments ago. Lucian then slid his plate overand put Mason’s empty one in front of her before moving his chair next to Sebastian and plopping down.

“You speak English. Act like it,” he taunted, then picked up a single noodle and slurped it into his mouth.

A blush bloomed like a rose across Mason’s face, and her breathing went shallow. She was next to me now, close enough for me to touch. I desperately wanted to; she looked like she needed a hug, and I gaveincrediblehugs. But I didn’t want to make her even more uncomfortable.

Her eyes remained wide as she focused on her plate, hands folded in her lap.

“Lucky, I’d like to thank you for your concern, but Mason was absolutely fine. Please move.”

Sebastian was laser-focused on his brother, and I decided to pretend like I wasn’t listening in. Slowly, I reached for the General Tso’s tofu and put a few cubes on my plate. Normally, I hated tofu. Lucian had been trying to get me to eat it for years, but I could never get past the wet sponge texture. Still, I had an undeniable need to win Mason over.

“Masie, would you like some?” I offered.

As she nodded silently, a weird feeling filled the pit of my stomach. Mason, as I knew her, was exuberant. She was loud, friendly, and smiley. However, the Mason sitting beside me seemed like an empty husk of the woman she once was.

I started the process of serving her, but her hand appeared on top of mine. Her long fingers were decorated with matte black acrylics, and her touch was cold.

“I can do it, but thank you.” Her accent made her whisper almost impossible to decipher, but somehow I managed.

She took the container from me and began rooting through it, almost like she was looking for something. After she pulled out the third chunk of broccoli, I caught on to what she was doing. Unfortunately for her, so did Luci.

“Nu-uh, you’re pregnant.” Lucian snatched the container from her hands. “You need to eat more than vegetables.”

“And you need to mind your own business,” Sebastian warned, placing a firm hand on Lucian’s shoulder.

“Lucian is a dad now,” I explained, hoping to break the tension. “He’s just worried, it’s what he does.”

Mason turned away from the brothers, focusing on her plate instead. Slowly, she picked up her chopsticks and took a small bite out of a broccoli floret, then looked back at me.

“Just Lucian?”

God, her voice was so sweet. I smiled in response, fully prepared to tell Mason all about Lucian’s drug-induced condom-poking situation.

“Nope, Sophia is a mom now, just like you.” Lucian snatched the box of tofu from the table and dumped half of the container onto Mason’s plate, then served himself the rest. I tried to hide my surprise—this was the biggest meal I’d seen on his plate in months. If I could just keep the peace for long enough, maybe he’d eat it all.

“I thought you didn’t want kids?”

I didn’t. Kids and jobs weren’t exactly a match made in heaven, and I liked the feeling of working. But I did love Jasper and Juniper like they were my own, just like I would Mason’s little one. They were all my children, even if they didn’t share my genetics.

Besides, if I told the truth about Jas and Juni’s mother now, Lucian would probably refuse to eat out of spite.

“Everything happens for a reason.” I shrugged.

Mason donned a small smile at my answer, and my heart melted. Between the freckles, heterochromia, crooked teeth, and unruly hair, Mason never stood a chance at being stereotypically pretty. But she was beautiful in her own way. With soft features, big eyes, and expressions that used her whole face, Masonreminded me of a storybook princess. The twins were probably going to love her based on that alone.

Finally, I felt like I had turned the tides of this conversation to one I could control.

“So, I’m going to tackle the elephant in the room,” I began.

Lucian snorted as he looked directly at Cameron, and I mouthed, “Not that.”

He rolled his eyes before reaching for a wax paper bag and pulling out two spring rolls. He put one on his plate before sneaking the other onto Mason’s. It was a long shot, but I had a feeling this could work.

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