“Lorde!” Dr. Henry Alexander Tate smiled at her as he walked out of his bedroom. “I’m sorry for the mess, getting ready for a… meeting.”
“That’s alright. I just… I wanted to see you, Henry. They said I should wait a while longer but I…”
“Hush, love. I’m glad you didn’t listen. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Lorde smiled, determined to hold back her tears. Henry hated when she cried. Made him feel powerless, he’d told her. “Everything’s been so awful. He’s dead! I didn’t realize that they… Oh, Henry!”
Dr. Tate glanced at the baby briefly. “Is this Cynthia?”
“Yes! She looks a lot like me.” Lorde placed a soft kiss on Cyn’s temple. “I’m both relieved and disappointed about that.”
“Well. It’s for the best, really.”
“I guess so.”
“I need to finish getting dressed. Come with me?”
“Oh. Yes, please. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me too, love. Me too.” He smiled. “Leave the baby out here, she should be fine.”
“Henry, I don’t want to go back. I hate it there.”
“Just a bit longer, love. Then you and I can take Cynthia and go somewhere nice and quiet.”
She heard the laughter in his voice and smiled into his shoulder. “You know I could never do quiet. I like my life, it’s just these people. Why did they have to kill him?”
She didn’t say anything about Colin. Lorde had the distinct impression Henry didn’t like the boy. But she was his mother and she would never leave him. And what if Kieran decided to leave her destitute? How could she raise a family… No, she couldn’t leave yet. But soon, she might have a bargaining chip. Mother was right, men were predictable and Kieran had proven he was just like all the rest.
“I don’t think that was the intention,” Henry said. “Anyhow, if you’re feeling stressed about it, I can give you something.”
“Yes, please. Everything has been so utterly dreadful. I never meant to hurt him. And his mother has been so… kind to me. I won’t have to do anything like that again, will I?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll be there for you, no matter what.”
Lorde sighed. Why couldn’t she have waited just a couple more years? Then she could have married Henry and been happy.
“It’s time I got ready for my meeting and Cynthia is probably very bored. It’s not good to leave a child that young alone.”
Lorde flinched. She knew that! Of course she did. But when she looked up at Henry, he was all smiles. “Yes, of course,” she said. “Silly me.”
The Torres Legacy 
So, Kieran’s not Cynthia’s father, or Lorde isn’t sure? This doctor’s a shady character. So much for not sleeping with your patients. There’s no way Kieran will let her just take his kids when she decides she wants a divorce.
It’s been a while since I read the chapter where Lorde was giving information to the wrong people. That was tied to Matt’s death, right? And I presume she’s referring to Claire as the bargaining chip.
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YUP! To all of the above questions and comments.
Lorde gave the itinerary that Eva had to the bad guys. That’s how they were able to attack that day.
And yes, she is referring to Claire. Who do you think told the paparazzi where he was?
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Henry is using Lorde as much as she’s using everyone else. What a mess.
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Henry is high key using her! He is a piece of work, let me tell you!
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