Hide and seek

"I'll make it short. I don't want you to be my bridesmaid. But you can still attend my wedding. You and Father, even Stepmother. But if you don't want to attend, it makes no difference for me. I wanted to tell you first, I will inform father about my decision afterwards. "

"My sweet Lily, you can't always have everything you want in your life. I want a lot, too, but I can't have it all."

Annoyed, Lily began to massage the tense temples with her index finger and thumb, clutching the mobile phone tightly. She did not want to discuss this with her younger sister. Nadine's snippy attitude drove Lily crazy. "Things have been working out pretty well for you these last few years." Lily felt an old suppressed rage boiling up inside of her.

"Congratulations. You finally got it." Nadine snapped back.

Lily swallowed hard. The disappointment and anger had knotted into a poisonous lump in her throat. "Nadine, I don't want to argue with you on the phone. All I want is to tell you that you don't have to attend any other event related to my wedding as my bridesmaid. You have the choice to attend my wedding as my guest. If you and Father still want to save face. But you won't be my bridesmaid. Now that this is settled, I'm hanging up. Have a nice day."

"Stop!" Nadine high-pitched voice shrilled over the phone.

Lilly blinked. "What else?" She asked grimly.

"What else!" Her sister mocked. "We're not done yet. To make one thing clear. At your wedding, I will be at your side as your bridesmaid!"

"It's not for you to decide! I'm the bride. You can keep dreaming but you will not get your way. "

"That may be so, but you're about to change your mind."

"Are you threatening me?!" In disbelief, Lily clung to the hem of her dress. Damn it! Nadine couldn't be serious about this.

"Sister, I could never threaten you. I just want to make a nice proposal."

"Proposal!" Lily's voice was icy, hissing like the cold north wind.

"Yes! A really tempting suggestion." Her sister calmly chirped into the phone.

"I don't know what your definition of tempting is in your vocabulary." But Lily could imagine that Nadine's 'tempting' could mean a dreadful disaster for herself.

Nadine laughed. "Dear Sis, a little bird told me you're hiding someone in your new home. It would be a great pity if his identity were suddenly exposed. Wouldn't it?" Nadine hummed into the phone. It made Lily's neck hair stand up.

Lily tautened her shoulders. She had a bad feeling. Immediately, the image of Adrien flickered before her eyes. "What do you mean?" Her voice sounded sharper than she intended.

"Don't act so innocent, Sis. We both know you haven't been innocent for a long time. I mean, if the press or any of the upper class knew about your domestic scandal. The fact that your oh-so-great husband didn't marry you out of love. But because of the little bastard you were pregnant with three years ago. The fact that you conceived a child out of wedlock and why Alexandra had to hide you and the bastard for so long. Whatever, your little game of hide-and-seek with your son can go on forever! But my silence has a price."

Lily was struggling for breath. "Never call him a bastard again!" She was furious. No one was allowed to talk about her little treasure that way. Nobody! She wouldn't let anyone harm Adrien. Even if she had to make a deal with the devil.

"Oh! Sorry did I step on your toes?"

She desperately needed some fresh air. She was about to explode, but forced to breathe deeply in and keep a cool head. For Adrien! She mustn't lose her nerve. First she had to deal with this problem.

At the same time, she wondered where her sister was getting this information from again. The information was not correct at all, but she was right! She and Alexandre were hiding little Adrien from the public for the safety of the toddler.

She could already imagine the impact this news would have. Whatever her sister wanted, now she had Lily in her grasp. But only for now. Lily dared not even to think about being threatened by her sister any further. Because blackmailers knew no limit to the favors they called in, eventually Nadine would sell the valuable information anyway. "What do you want?"

"Only what I already had. I'll be your maid of honor and my lips will remain sealed."

Lily actually did not want to give her sister what she asked for. But for now, she had no choice. Her hands were tied. Because if her sister told the public this story, the good reputation of Alexandre and especially her would be ruined. If even the slightest suspicion arose that a woman had sexual intercourse before marriage, she was banned unconditionally from the circles of the crème de la crème. It was even harder to imagine what effects such rumors would have on Adrien later on in his life. That would be a stigmatization of him.

Whether the rumor was true or not was of no interest to the gossip lovers of Dijon.

Once a rumor was circulating, it would be unstoppable. Besides, if a little evidence was left behind. Such a rumor could ruin a woman and the child born out-of-wedlock forever!

Lily couldn't afford to riot at the moment, just one word from her sister would be enough to alert the reporters and it wouldn't be long before Adrien was found. She had to plug Nadine's mouth temporarily until she found a better solution.

"Is that all you want?" Lily hissed into the phone.

"For now, sis. If I want more, I know where to turn to. Ciao, ciao."

Lily heard only one more click before Nadine has already hung up, and she was about to go crazy on her own. She did not know how, but somehow Nadine managed to get this valuable information. Information that could mean their family's social death.

Helplessly she wandered up and down, completely lost in her thoughts. She would be dead if she couldn't come up with a solution. But she wouldn't give up so easily! After all, it wasn't just about her alone.