Page 32 of The Beast's Heart

Maybe this is Adam. Adam when he doesn’t feel like he has to be The Beast.

This is too intimate to witness. I should leave. I take a step back, but I knock one of the rose branches and it rustles. He looks up. Surprise and irritation flash across his features.

I hold up a hand in greeting. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb.”

“What are you doing here?” he asks. It feels like what he’s really asking ishow did you find me?

“I was looking for you actually. Can we talk?”

He presses his lips together. Then sighs and turns away to fetch another ailing plant off a shelf. “Are the children all right?”

“Quite fine.”

He places the plant on the counter and gently works the stick into the soil. Then he reaches for some cable ties. A stake to help the plant grow.

“We… uh, haven’t seen you around. The children I mean. They haven’t seen much of you.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“I can see that.”

His stormy gaze lands on me.

“I thought… I thought maybe we could organize something? A day out? A chance for them to get to know you better.”

“You’re worried I’mneglectingthem.”

The words I used when we argued about the piano. I feel a stab of guilt at that. Maybe I was too harsh.

“I just think it would be nice for them.”

“No, you don’t.”

“What do you mean?”

Adam sighs and turns to put the plant back on its shelf. “I’m not in the best mood, Belle. Which is why I’m in the middle of the forest. Alone. Word to the wise. You should probably stay clear.”

“What’s wrong?”

Again, the glare.

“Right. Not up for sharing.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “But before I leave, what did you mean just now? About me not thinking it would be nice for them to spend time with you? I hope I haven’t given you the impression?—”

Adam growls and runs his hands through his thick hair. “Do I have to spell it out, Belle? I’m The Beast. I’m not the Cuddly Teddy Bear. If I spend more time with the children, chances are I’ll scare them further.”

“You’re keeping your distance because of what happened with Mal?”

He waves an arm in the direction of the house, narrowly missing hitting one of his pots. “Not just that. You know it’s not just that.”

The cameras. He’s probably seen more than even I have. I wonder if the resolution on his monitors is good enough for him to see how often they fight his video game character.

“I think you could change how they feel about you, if you wanted to.”

“What if I don’t want to? What if I’m fine with how things are. They have you and they have Lily-Iris. They neither want nor need me, Belle.”

I shake my head. “If that’s how you truly feel, of course it’s your right. But I think it’s a waste. You have an opportunity to make an impression on these children while they’re with you, to give them a taste of feeling wanted and appreciated by a parental figure. Instead, you’re hiding from them, giving all of your pent up affection to… vegetation.”

“I’m The Beast,” he says again, through grit teeth.

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