Maybe. Then she crossed out maybe and wrote eventually. She'd stay just a little longer until she figured out what came next. And if that turned into weeks or months or something she couldn't quite define yet, well, she'd deal with that when it happened. For now, she had three kids who needed her and a man who'd given her a second chance at being human.
That was enough. Eventually became 3 months. Three months of mornings that started with coffee and chaos, afternoons spent driving kids to activities, evenings around the dinner table where Lena had somehow earned her own chair. The one next to Adrien, where she could reach Sophieie's plate when the girl inevitably needed help cutting something, and where Thomas would lean over to show her funny videos on his phone that Adrien pretended not to see. 3 months and she still hadn't called the lawyer back.
The divorce papers sat in her suitcase, buried under clothes she'd finally unpacked into the dresser Adrien had cleared for her. She knew she needed to deal with them. Knew Marcus was probably getting impatient, that his lawyer was racking up billable hours trying to track her down. But every time she thought about picking up the phone, something stopped her. Sophieie needing help with a school project.
Thomas wanting her opinion on his piano recital piece. Marcus, young Marcus, asking if she'd come to his basketball game on Saturday. Life kept happening and the divorce kept not. It was early March when everything shifted. The snow had finally melted, leaving the yard a muddy mess that the kids tracked through the house despite Adrien's increasingly desperate reminders about taking off shoes at the door.
Lena had stopped trying to keep the floors clean and just mopped twice a day instead. She was in the kitchen making lunches when Adrien came down, already dressed for work, but looking distracted. "Morning," she said, handing him coffee before he could ask. "Thanks." He took it, but didn't drink.
Just stood there holding the mug, staring at nothing. "You okay? I need to go to New York." The words came out flat. Final.
Lena's stomach dropped. For how long? A week, maybe two. There's a merger that's falling apart and they need me on site to salvage it. He finally looked at her.
I wouldn't go if it wasn't critical. Okay, the thing is. He set the mug down. I can't take the kids. They've got school and Thomas has that piano competition next weekend and Sophieie's got her birthday party.
I'll handle it, Lena said before she could think better of it. Adrien blinked. You sure? Was she sure? She'd been here 3 months, and the longest she'd been alone with all three kids was maybe 4 hours when Adrien had an emergency at work.
"A week was different. A week was real responsibility, not just helping out." "I'm sure," she said, lying through her teeth. Relief flooded his face. "I'll leave my assistant's number and my lawyers in case anything legal comes up.