Adam looked at her surprised and confused.
"What do you mean?"
"She knew I was pregnant, and she didn't want me to have children to inherit my mother's blood. So she pushed me down the stairs."
"She pushed you? I thought it was an accident!"
"It wasn't."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Because I know you'd want to take the law into your own hands. And as you said earlier, revenge belongs to me. E... I had to reveal my pregnancy, and I was afraid of your reaction. Maybe you'd finish what Sarah started and kill my son. I didn't know what to think... Sarah took a lot from me. She took me away from my family and killed my mother. She pretended to be my friend, she stalked me in this house, with her insane jealousy of you and... I couldn't let you take that away from me. Sarah has always had an influence on your decisions and..."
"And why didn't you tell me about the pregnancy before the accident?" Adam interrupted her, irritated.
"I was determined to tell you the day you raped me. But I didn't, because you refused to get rid of Kate. At the time, I believed that she was in cahoots with Sarah, and that she was the mastermind of this crime."
"Did Kate know you were pregnant?" Adam asked, his eyes becoming darker.
Anna understood that Adam would kill Kate if she told him about her suspicions.
"I don't think so. After all, she saved me. According to Jenna, she called me for help."
"That's true... We were in the garden. It would have taken us a while to discover you passed out at the foot of the stairs and we wouldn't have known that you had fallen. She saw you fall, and before you even reached the bottom of the stairs, she was already shouting at us."
"You, who have known her for many years, do you think she would be able to plan something like this?"
"Anna, it doesn't matter if you've known someone all your life. You never know what a person is capable of or not. I always observe behavior by the motivation of the moment. We are all driven by motivation."
Anna stared at him, concluding that it was the wisest thing she had ever heard come from his lips. Everything depended on motivation. She wanted to take revenge on Sarah, for various reasons, and every pain she caused her would be like the pain she caused her family.
"I was wrong to you, Adam. I recognize that now. I was wrong with you and with Ian. I should have told you."
"Why didn't you tell me before? I noticed that you started wearing baggier clothes, but I didn't take the time to worry about it. I didn't think there was such an important reason behind your behavior."
"I was afraid you'd force me to abort the baby. I already loved him and wanted him."
"Having children with you has always been my dream, ever since I saw you, even if one day I said otherwise."
"Even without knowing it, I should have given you the chance to raise your son and given Ian a decent pregnancy. I know he suffered with me, the hunger and the cold. The humiliations I went through weren't necessary... But without them I wouldn't have met Max."
"Do you love him, the way you loved me?"
"No, Adam. I'm not going to lie to you. I love Max much more than I once loved you. The love I feel for you today is not the love a woman has for her husband, but for a friend."
"I'll make you love me much more than this feeling you have for my brother. He won't see you anymore, Anna.
Anna looked at him with pity. Yes, she would. And it would be right under his eyes.
"Well? Are you going to bring Sarah here?"
"I'll ask the cook to fetch her, while the other one prepares your cocktail." Adam said and left.
Anna sat at the table, which she had shared so many times with Adam, his werewolves, Kate and Jenna, with nostalgia. Back then, she enjoyed cooking, and seeing the surprise in Adam's eyes when he tasted her food. She couldn't remember ever cooking for Maxwell, except for the night they spent together, but he hadn't tasted that food. Was Maxwell a more decent man than Adam? She couldn't say. Maxwell supported her and her decisions and Adam had a habit of making them for her. Not that that was a bad thing. It was a bit... comforting, knowing that she didn't have to worry about making big decisions, but when she did make her decision, it was good to have someone like Max to back her up.
Anna took a deep breath. She wasn't there to compare her love for the two brothers. She was there to fulfill a mission, and she wouldn't leave until she had made her promise come true. But she could no longer decide whether to wait for Ian's month to end, or to do it while he was still there. It would be very difficult to stay there, after she had sorted everything out, without any motivation. She looked at the first ring Maxwell had put on her finger and felt nostalgic. She also felt a little guilty. She had to admit that it wouldn't be easy to resist Adam's advances. Hell, she couldn't even resist the attraction she felt with his presence, his smell, his closeness, his voice, besides, he was very handsome, just like Maxwell, but Adam had something that attracted her that Maxwell would never have. Personalities in common. And she saw a lot of him in Ian too. Even though he was brought up with Maxwell's strict principles, Ian had Adam's rebellious and independent streak, and it wouldn't surprise her if, when he reached a certain age, he decided to move in with his biological father for good.
Ian would begin to feel that something was missing in his life, and he would seek to fill that void in the United States. She needed to prepare Maxwell for this possibility, because she wouldn't allow him to stop him. Ian would have the freedom, and the possibility, to live in different environments, and choose the one that most satisfied his heart.