Chapter 206

Claire wasn't the least bit intimidated by him. Even when he snapped, she just blinked innocently at him. Adrian looked at her, completely exasperated. He stopped walking and waited where he was. "You just gonna stand there forever? Are we heading back or not?" Moonlight filtered through the sycamore trees around the villas, casting a soft glow that landed right between their shadows like a quiet divide. Claire stepped over that line of light, her voice calm and steady. "Adrian, I meant what I said earlier. Okay, maybe joking about you crying wasn't the most tactful, but seriously, don't keep bottling everything up like this. Remember what I told Henry this afternoon? There's nothing weak about crying—it's one way to let things out. If you've got stuff weighing you down, talk about it or at least find some way to deal with it. Walking off like earlier doesn't help anyone. We just end up worried, and you're the one who ends up hurting inside. We're family. Why fight like we're not? Don'