Adam continued to look serious, but Anna could see from his eyes that he was enjoying himself, but he looked away and went back to staring at the ceiling.
"So Max talked about it with you..."
"I saw it."
"Max needed your fear, or dread, for you to accept being his wife, in fact. He told you that when I made those tapes, I still didn't have command of as many territories as I do today? I was still searching for my place. I still wanted to achieve something other than my authority over the werewolves. I felt useless, I... I didn't think I deserved to have everything I'd received without doing anything. Something that even Max doesn't know was that my enemies blackmailed me all the time. They threatened his safety. If I hadn't made them leave, and continued to believe that I was a danger to them, they'd be dead today."
"I already hated you, Adam. Max didn't have to lie to me or use underhanded tricks to win me over. I fell in love with him. I was the one who imposed a physical relationship between us."
"Do you really believe that? Anna, do you really think that Max hasn't been manipulating you the whole time since you arrived at his apartment? He wasn't an idiot. You were fragile, you hated the father of your child, you didn't even know the child existed, you were in material need and you were destitute. He knew how to act, so you thought he was the best man in the world. And maybe he is. And maybe that's why you'll never go back to him, Anna."
"Why not?"
"Because you're the worst woman in the world. Have you ever thought about what you're doing? You don't even care, do you? You've stirred up a dispute between brothers who love each other, Anna. Max and I, however, will never be truly shaken by our feelings for you. In the end, we will destroy you."
Anna felt saddened by these words.
"I'm sorry you feel that way about me, Adam. I never wanted you to fight over me."
"If that's true, Anna, stay away from him. Tell him you're staying with me and kill his hopes of ever having you in his arms again."
"I can't do that."
"Then your destiny will be the green house, Anna. I'll never give you up, and I have that right because I'm your lawful husband and I was your first man. I'll get tired of you and your games, and Max will soon lose interest in you too. And when all this happens, we can't send you away, because no one who knows my secret is the lifeblood of this family, and your only use will be in the green house, where everyone can indulge themselves without any worries."
"Do you have the nerve to do that to the mother of your child? Max would never do that."
"I will, Anna. And Max will agree. You're not the first obstacle we've faced in our union as brothers. You're just another obstacle. And we'll understand each other."
"Adam... You're not going to do any of those things you just said. I know you. Always threatening. I know you've imagined me in the green house, but have you ever imagined me in there with hands touching me other than your own?"
Adam took a deep breath, but didn't answer. In parts, Anna was right.
"So... why don't you tell your mother about how you only protected her, now that you can actually protect them? I know she'll understand and welcome you back with open arms."
"I can't. We've never been close, and I've always felt like an extra burden that my parents carried, not knowing who they were giving birth to and not knowing how to interrupt my birth. It's fine the way it is."
"Adam... I don't know if this is the best time to tell you this, but there's something you inherited from your father, just like Max, and I think it should be present in all my children, including Ian."
"Ian is my miniature. Didn't my mother show you old photos of me when I was his age? Of course he'll inherit everything that's in me. Good things, and also bad things."
"I've seen pictures of you, yes. Of course she showed them to me. But Max also has the same characteristics as you... But there's something more than that that you're not aware of."
"Just say it." Adam said, and took his arms from behind her head and wrapped her in a hug. Smelling her hair.
Anna didn't try to repel him. She knew it was a form of consolation for him.
"You have inherited a psychosis from your ancestors." So Anna told Adam everything. She only concealed from him that she had learned these things from her own brother.
After she'd finished telling him, Adam looked at her with a really amused look on his face, and when he started to speak, he couldn't. He was overcome with laughter. It took him a while to stop himself. When he did, he put his finger on the tip of Anna's nose and said it with tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. Anna waited quietly for his hysteria to pass and for him to explain himself. She was enjoying seeing things in Adam that she had never seen before. Feelings.
"So that was the excuse Max had his father-in-law give for his infidelity?" Adam shook his head. "How can you believe everything they say, like that Anna? I thought you were smarter. Of course he's addicted to sex. It's so wonderful to have an orgasm! Who wouldn't be? And what about the aggression with which we treat women? Anna, do you really think this is news to Max? What do you think the green house is for? To have tea with the women we put inside? Anna, you're so stupid, I almost feel sorry for you. Max has always visited the green house, you dunce! Since he was thirteen. I only went once and... deep down they want to experience it. The men in the Lens family live on fantasies. It's wild sex, without love. It's more natural than you might think. Sadomasochism is great for de-stressing. I'm glad my family practiced it and revealed this "big secret" that everyone knew to you."