Bad liar

Olivia's POV

I stepped back so fast I nearly knocked over the chair behind me.

"Lily." My voice came out really loud. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Sweetheart, go finish your show, okay? I'll bring your food in a minute."

Her eyes went from me, to Adrian, then back to me, narrowing the way she always did when she was trying to figure something out.

"Mom, were you kissing your boss just now?"

"What? No." I said quickly, my face already heating up. 

"You were." She crossed her arms. "I saw it."

"You didn't see anything, baby, Mr. Adrian was just…" I glanced at him for help. He was of no help at all. He just stood there with his arms crossed too, clearly enjoying this. "He was just leaving."

"Then why was his hand on your face?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I thought we moved before she came in.

She tilted her head. "Are you guys dating?"

"No…." I said too quickly again, I hated how obvious I was being.

"You sound like you're lying."

"I'm not lying, why would I lie, we really weren't…."

"You always say I'm a bad liar because my voice gets funny." She pointed at me like she'd caught me in the act. "Your voice just got funny."

Behind me, I heard the smallest sound from Adrian, it sounded like a laugh he was trying very hard to swallow. I shot him a look that told him exactly what I thought of that.

"Lily," I said, kneeling down to her level. "Mr. Adrian and I were just talking about something grown-up. It's boring, I promise."

"Mom kissing isn't talking."

I glanced at Adrian again, silently begging him to say something…anything, that wouldn't make this worse.

"Your mom's right," he said, crouching down beside her. "It's very boring grown-up stuff. Contracts, paperwork and all that."

She squinted at him. "You don't kiss people about paperwork."

"No," Adrian admitted, I could hear the amusement he wasn't even bothering to hide anymore. "No, you don't."

"So you were kissing."

"Lily." My voice cracked. "Please go watch your show."

She crossed her arms, mimicking me perfectly. "Fine….But I'm not stupid, Mommy."

I sighed. "I know you're not."

"I'm just going to pretend I believe you," she said, already turning to walk back toward the living room.

The second she disappeared around the corner, I let out the breath I'd been holding since she came through that door.

"Lily," I called after her, "you can watch cartoons until dinner's ready, okay?"

"Really?" Her head popped back around the corner, her eyes lighting up. On a normal day I gave her twenty minutes, no more. She knew this was a bribe, she took it anyway. "Okay!"

The TV volume climbed a few seconds later, some cheerful theme song filling the apartment. 

I turned back to Adrian. "You should go."

He didn't move, he stayed glued to that spot.

"Adrian. You need to leave, before she comes back in and sa…”

"We're not done." He interjected, pulling out the same kitchen chair he'd sat in minutes ago and lowered himself into it like this was his kitchen and not mine.

My hands curled at my sides. "I think we said everything that needed to be said."

"We didn't say anything." His eyes tracked me as I crossed my arms, putting the counter between us. 

"You reacted. That's different from having a real conversation."

"What do you want from me, Adrain?"

"I want to be clear," he said, "about what happens next. Because I don't think you understand your position."

"My position." I laughed. "She's my daughter."

"She's my daughter too. Legally, biologically, in every way that matters." He said calmly. "And right now, on paper, I have no rights to her at all. I intend to fix that."

My stomach dropped. "Fix it how?"

"There are two ways this goes." He held up one finger. "One….You marry me, we raise her together, under my name…. as a family. She grows up knowing exactly who her father is instead of being told lies about him."

"I never lied to her about…."

"Two." He kept going like I hadn't spoken. "You refuse…” He smirked. “... I pursue full legal custody. Every lawyer my money can buy, every resource and every angle. I will not stop until a judge hands her to me and you get supervised visits on weekends, if you're lucky."

The room tilted. "You wouldn't."

"Test me."

"You're threatening me." My voice shook. "You're standing in my kitchen threatening to take my daughter from me."

"I'm giving you a choice here, Olivia" He rose from the chair. "Most people don't get one."

"This isn't a choice, this is blackmail."I shook my head in disbelief.

"Call it whatever you want." He reached for his jacket, draped over the back of the chair. "The outcome doesn't change."

I stared at him, my mind scrambling for some argument that would make him see how insane this was but nothing came. Every version of ‘you can't do this’ died in my throat, because I knew, I knew with a sick certainty, that he could. He had the money, he had the name. He had lawyers who'd bury me before I even understood what hit me.

"You have until Friday," he said, shrugging the jacket on. "Marry me, Olivia….Or lose her trying to fight me."

He didn't wait for an answer. He walked past me, unlocking the door and stepped out into the hallway without a single glance back.

The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts.