His voice

"Madame, Monsieur wants you on the telephone." One of the maids had come to the dining room and held out the phone. Reluctantly, Lily picked up the phone and held it near her ear.

"Hello?" She spoke indecisively in the telephone receiver. She heard a noise on the other side. "Lily?" Her heart started to flutter after hearing his voice. It almost felt like he was whispering right in her ear. She sat up straight.

"Yes?" She responded, as she brushed her index finger across the edge of the cup. She suddenly felt so nervous, burdened. She did not know why. This morning, she had not felt that way, so burdened. She knew she had to deal with this situation like an adult. But she always liked to run away when she knew she too had made mistakes. She did not like conflicts. Lily knew she had to be strong. She could not just be carried away by old instincts. She was a mother and a wife. Although she had no experience with these roles, she wanted to try hard. She wanted to be strong for Adrien. He needed a safe environment. A footing. Security. She could not afford it alone. That's why she needed Alexandre's help.

"It's me. Can we talk?" His voice sounded hard and worried at the same time.

"I'm glad you called." She smiled, trying to suppress her discomfort.

"Me too." Her heart jumped.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't want to cry ... really. "Lily absentmindedly chewed on her lower lip. Her eyes were glued to rest of her breakfast. Her plate was half empty. But suddenly she was not hungry anymore.

He laughed. But it was not that liberated laugh. It sounded heavy. Sad. "It doesn't have to. I'm somehow thankful for that." He sighed. Why did he sound so depressed? She wanted to know what he was thinking. But she was grateful that he was not angry anymore. At least she thought he was not angry anymore. He was depressed. His voice betrayed him.

"Lily, how are you?" Alexandre asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I'm fine." She mumbles, glancing at her coffee cup.

"Are you sure? You don't sound fine."

"You too." She heard his breathing close to her ear. His breath felt heavy in the second-long silence. Until his voice broke the silence. Seriously. "Why can't you just believe me?" He asked.

Lily pushed the plate further away from herself. Suddenly there was this tension. He was right, she did not trust him. That had only one reason! Her prejudices against him. He was the ruthless villain of a clichéd romance novel, Lily had read in her last life. She did not trust him because her trust had been broken too often. She remembered Pascal. He had behaved as it was written in My loyal hubby. He followed the instructions of the book step by step. Lily was afraid to make the same mistake again. To trust. She was suspicious. That's why she wanted to know everything. Although the content of the novel had changed, but it did not mean that the characters had changed. But there was a second reason. "Because you lied."

"I lied? So you mean I did not tell you about the interviews in the magazines?"

"Yes." Her mouth was too dry. She could not form more than one syllable. Her fingers trembled as she clutched the cup tighter.

"What can I do to win your trust?" There was a heavy inhale.

She did not know it herself. After all of her experience, she became naturally suspicious.

"Maybe you're going to inaugurate me into your plans?" She bit her lower lip. "At least in the plans in which Adrien and I are involved." She exhaled hard. Suddenly Adrien grabbed her arm. A squeaking sound escaped her lips as they startled. The phone almost slipped out of her hand.

"What happened?" Alexandre asked alarmed.

"Everything is okay. Wait a minute." She pressed the phone against her chest. "Adrien do you need something?" The toddler extended his arms, expectant. Lily understood immediately what he wanted. She quickly wiped the traces of his breakfast from his face and then pulled him onto her lap. "Have you had enough?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes!" Adrien nodded vigorously with his head, his dark hair hopping up and down before he rested his face on her shoulder. "Wait a minute, I'll talk to Alec quickly. If you want, you can talk to him, too."

"Can ... Can I say hello?" He asked sheepishly, his cheeks turning red.

"Of course." Lily handed the toddler the phone. Adrien gripped it with both hands and put it to his ear.

"Hello, Alec." He mumbled into the phone. Before he fell silent. Lily did not understand what Alexandre said to Adrien. But she could see the clear smile on the little guy's face that even made her smile. Suddenly, this heaviness was gone.

Adrien looked up again. "Alec wants to tell you something else."

Lily clamped the phone back under her ear while Adrien played with her fingers.

"It's me again." She said into the silence.

"Lily!" His voice sounded stunned. "I can not always promise that I'm doing everything right." He groaned. "But I want you to trust me."

"I can't ..."

"Let me finish, please." Alexandre interrupted her. "I will try to tell you the important matters. Do you agree?"

"I want to have a say in plannings which involves me and Adrien!" She heard him moan. "It's important for me!"

"Will you trust me then?"

"It's a good start." She grinned.

"You have really strange conditions. As always!" He chuckled, his deep voice making the phone vibrate. "All right then. I'll try it."

"You can start right now. What kind of event are we going to this evening?"