Adam's words from earlier still lingered in my mind, colder than anything Alric had ever said to me. But I knew he was just a child. He mimicked what he saw and heard.
I held his hand gently and crouched down, trying not to let my temper show. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go read in the study for a bit, okay?”
But Adam yanked his hand away “No! You just want to bully Aunt Fina again! I won’t let you! She’s the good one—you’re the bad one!”
My body froze. I’d spent eight years raising him, loving him through everything. And this was what I got?
My hand trembled as I tried to take his again. “Baby… did someone tell you that Mommy is bullying Aunt Fina?”
Alric's face darkened. “There you go again. Always paranoid. When will you take a hard look at yourself instead of blaming everyone else?”
Adam let out a scornful little laugh. “Thanks to Aunt Fina, I get to be an only child! I don’t want a little brother or sister! Mommy just wants to pop out more babies like a pig!”
Seraphina gently pulled him to her side and said, in a sweet, pitying voice, “Sweetie, your mommy just wanted a few more kids, that’s all. But you can’t call her a pig for that.”