Chapter 311: Strong Dislike
To say Marianne Thomas was surprised by Adam Collins would have been a colossal understatement. She had met her grown-up daughter Melanie a few times and though she had changed a lot, her innate calm and steadiness had still reflected in her even after all these years. And later, when she had heard that her daughter was married to the CEO of a multinational company, she had thought that Melanie had remained true to her personality, marrying someone staid and dependable.
But never had she imagined that the man her daughter had chosen would turn out to be someone like this. And from the way her husband had visibly stiffened beside her, she was certain he hadn’t expected it either.
In fact, she was quite convinced that if Melanie had been raised by them and had ever dared to bring home a boy who looked and dressed like that, her father wouldn’t have just disapproved-he would have grounded her on the spot, locked her in a tower Rapunzel-style, and tossed the keys into the sea for good measure.
She stared, dumbfounded, trying to process the dissonance between her expectations and the man standing in front of her. There he was, dressed in a snug black polo-neck T-shirt under a worn leather jacket, paired with faded jeans and boots that had definitely seen better days. The effect was striking and not necessarily in a good way since it screamed ’dangerous man’.
She was so taken aback by the ensemble that she didn’t even register his name when it was said, her mind too preoccupied with questions like ’Is this really him? and What on earth was Melanie thinking?’
Melody, on the other hand, was equally thrown- but for an entirely different reason. Every time Adam had come to pick up Adir from school, he’d been the picture of professionalism- always in crisply ironed suits or a shirt-and-trouser combo that gave off the unmistakable aura of a man who had meetings to attend and things to sign.
The only thing that ever slightly undercut that image was the small, rebellious silver lip ring he wore- a detail she had always hated. In her eyes, it clashed terribly with his otherwise elegant face and personality.
And yet, standing here now, with his unkempt hair falling into his eyes and his entire look screaming reckless nonchalance, Melody found herself blinking in disbelief. She barely recognized him.
Adam stared at the three people in front of him with varying shades of disbelief etched into their faces, and for a fleeting moment, he was amused. He could practically see the protectiveness coiling in Mr. Thomas, who looked one firm breath away from declaring a full-blown crusade. The man’s jaw was clenched so tightly, Adam was sure the man would end up with a broken molar.
Mrs. Thomas, on the other hand, looked torn between curiosity, judgment, and a whole myriad of emotions that he did not have time to assess. As for Melody—her irritation was radiating off her in waves. But since she was of no concern to him, he did not pay her any attention.
He almost grinned at their confusion. Good, there was a reason he chose to dress like this. If he wanted answers, he needed to keep them off balance.
"Please. Have a seat."