"Throwing tantrums with me won't get you anywhere. The only way you don't end up alone again is if you keep doing as I say."
I sniffled and said nothing.
Adam took my silence as surrender. He turned the key in the ignition, then stopped halfway.
"Oh, right. Starting today, when you ride in my car, you sit in the back. She told me the passenger seat is hers and hers alone from now on. I gave her my word, and I'm not going to break it."
He turned to look at me. "You know me. I've always been a man of my word. I promised to take care of you for the rest of your life, and even though I'm marrying someone else, I'll still take care of you."
A smile spread across his face. "You probably don't know this yet, but in three days, she and I are going to register our marriage. I had to beg her for ages before she finally agreed. I can't afford to upset her again. She's not easy to coax like you are. She says she's a red rose, and if you love the flower, you have to accept the thorns."
Adam was lost in his sweetness with her. But I felt as though those thorns had pierced me instead. A sharp, stinging pain shot through my palm.