Chapter Seventeen #2
“You have said quite enough. I understand your feelings perfectly and am now only ashamed of what my own feelings have been.” He straightened and walked away from her.
“Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.” The door vibrated in its frame as he slammed it on his way out.
Vivian sat down abruptly. Xavier, in love with her?
Absurd. How many times had he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her?
And how had he expected her to react to his brash confession?
What arrogance! To assume she would fall into his arms after everything he had done to Delilah. And to Silas.
Vivian’s breath quickened. She pictured the way his eyes had narrowed, how close his face had been to her own.
What if he had kissed her? She was stronger than a Martian.
She could have easily pushed him away. What if she had kissed him back?
It would serve him right if she had. She would have bit his lower lip.
Pulled at his shirt collar. Anything to get a reaction from him.
The door opened, and Vivian jerked her head up. Had Xavier returned? She didn’t think she could get through another argument with him without acting on her rash impulses.
“Vivian!” Wim said urgently from the doorway. He was swaying under Luz’s weight as she folded against him. “Help me!”
Vivian was at their side in two strides. She pulled Luz away from Wim and helped her to the couch. Luz lay down with her head on Vivian’s lap and let out a whimper.
“What’s wrong with her?” Vivian asked Wim.
His face was stark white. “She was perfectly fine on the train ride home. It was not until we rose to exit that she informed me that she felt dizzy. And then she vomited on the walk from the station.” Wim’s hand clutched his bald head, his middle finger tapping on one of the augmentations on his skull.
“Don’t just stand there gaping like an idiot,” Vivian snapped. “Bring her some water.”
After Wim had left the room, Luz blinked up at Vivian. “Be nice to him, Viv baby. For me.”
Wim’s hand shook as he returned with a glass of water and brought it to Luz’s lips. Luz lifted her head slightly to swallow and then leaned back down onto Vivian.
“Is this kinetosis again?” Vivian asked Wim. “Like Delilah?”
Wim shook his head, lips pressed together. Two red splashes of color had formed on his bleached face.
“Do you know something?” Vivian demanded.
“I—the Intelligence does. Nausea and vomiting are an anticipated side effect of the in utero calcium treatments. This is … expected.”
“Expected.” Vivian felt her own stomach roil. “Is that what you saw Dr. Chavez for today? The first calcium treatment?”
Wim wasn’t looking at them. He stared, with both his real and artificial eye, into a corner of the room, his head cocked for long minutes.
Vivian watched his face contort and forced her hand to remain steady as she stroked Luz’s hair.
“I can’t!” he suddenly growled, and then bent to his knees, his fist pressed against his forehead.
He leaned forward, touching his fist to the ground, and in a barely audible whisper said, “Forgive me, Intelligence. I am weak.”
Luz sat up slowly and picked up the water glass from where Wim had left it under the couch.
She gulped the water with her eyes never leaving Wim’s prone form.
And then, she rose shakily to her feet and crossed the room.
She knelt at Wim’s side and touched the bare skin of his head.
He turned into her, wrapping his arms around her body, shuddering.
“I’m to be your husband,” he whispered in a muffled voice into her chest. “It’s my duty to keep you safe from harm.”
“Baby, this one isn’t in your control.”
“It should be. I speak with the Intelligence’s own voice.”
Vivian pulled her knees into her chest and watched the two of them uncomfortably. They seemed to have forgotten she was there.
“And what does our AI overlord say now?” Luz asked wryly.
“The Intelligence counsels patience and an eye toward the end goal. It assures us this is all part of the plan.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I didn’t know.” Wim’s voice was soft.
She snorted. “Yes, you did.”
“No, I mean, I didn’t know what it would feel like to watch you suffer. I’ve never much cared about the suffering of others before.”
“Charming,” Luz drawled, but she was smiling.
Wim pulled back, wiping tears from his cheeks. “You did ask me for the truth. Always.”
“Alright, then here’s some hard truth. I’m pregnant with a child designed for an alien planet’s gravity, and these nine months are going to be hell a lot of the time. But I’m here because I chose to be. And I’m glad I chose you.”
The moment was too intimate for Vivian to stay a second longer.
As quietly as she could, she rose and made her way to her guest room.
She wondered when Delilah’s first calcium treatment would be.
And hers—she couldn’t put it off much longer.
Would the nausea come upon all of them so quickly or would their symptoms vary?
She would not soon forget the look of anguish on Wim’s face as he argued with the Intelligence.
It was the scenario Xavier wished to avoid, she realized suddenly.
I’ve tried not to love you. I don’t want to love you.
I love you against my will and my reason.
Who would be willing to subject the person they loved to such treatment?
Not Xavier.
She needed to forget all about him. He would never be her partner.