After I paid, I turned and headed back to the mansion.
I pushed the door open, and the warmth inside rushed at me.
Quinn looked up. His eyes traveled over my dripping hair and my soaked clothes.
His brow creased, and for once something close to real concern crossed his face.
"Go take a hot shower first, before you catch a cold."
The cold had gone out of his voice, replaced by a kind of gentleness.
"There's brown sugar on the lower shelf in the kitchen. Make yourself some warm honey tea after to take the chill off."
Nothing in me stirred. I only answered flatly.
I knew exactly how hollow this gentleness of his was.
Gone in a breath.
I had no use for the scraps he handed out.
Just then the System's cold prompt sounded in my head.
【Reward for shopping in the storm: 100 points.】
A flicker of light crossed my eyes.
Perfect. I was only a hundred points short of the end.
Then I could take my son and leave.
The thought filled me with drive, and I changed into dry clothes.
But it didn't take long for me to notice something was off.
Ever since I'd come in, the house had been far too quiet.
I frowned, every nerve drawn tight, and went to find Quinn.
"Where's Wyatt Delgado? Why haven't I seen him?"
The gentleness Quinn had worn a moment ago vanished. His face went dark in an instant.
The temperature around him dropped to freezing.
"Ginny's been in a bad mood lately. The kid bothers her. I sent him over to the other house."
The blood ran backward in my veins, and my chest clenched all at once.
A chill shot straight through me, into every limb.
No one knew better than I did that my son had severe congenital night blindness.
The moment night fell, his world went black, and he couldn't be left alone for a single step.
I couldn't even imagine how he was supposed to manage on his own in a strange place.
I forced down the fury rising in me, my voice shaking.
"He's still so little, he can't be left alone. How could you just send him off by himself?"
Quinn's face turned colder still.
His gaze cut at me like a blade, fixed and unblinking.
"In your eyes, is there nothing but that child?"
When I heard it, all I felt was how absurd it was.
I didn't understand what he was raving about now.
I gave a cold laugh on the spot.
"What else would there be?"
Three simple words, and they pushed Quinn over the edge.
His jaw went tight, his teeth clenched.
"Narelle, if you want to see the kid, you'll behave yourself and do as you're told."
I lifted my eyes and looked straight at him, the cold in them going to the bone.
"Quinn, you're using my son to threaten me again?"
He felt no guilt at all. If anything, his face said he couldn't care less.
"If you don't want to be threatened, that works too. Just harden your heart, forget about the kid, and you're free."
He knew better than anyone that my son was my one weak spot.
I knew he was an animal, but I'd never thought he could be this heartless toward his own son.
I drew a deep breath and clenched my fists.
Slowly I pressed down the tide of hatred at the bottom of my heart.
I knew every act of resistance was meaningless.
All I wanted now was to take my son and leave.
I lowered my eyes, my voice calm.
"Quinn, what do I have to do to see my son?"
Quinn looked down at me sideways, his fist clenched so hard it creaked.
Something I couldn't read churned in his eyes.
After a moment, his thin lips parted.
"Kneel and beg me."
I didn't hesitate. I knelt straight down in front of him.
In front of my son, what did dignity matter?
Just a little longer, and I could leave for good.
Quinn looked down at me from above, the emotion in his black eyes thick and heavy.
He ground out the words through his teeth, furious.
"Narelle, you really are cheap."
I said nothing. I only listened in silence.
I didn't understand what he was so angry about.
