Chapter 26 The Heart of the Problem #2
I gently touched the cool stone, looking at him straight until I dipped my head in feigned submission. “And it makes me happy to make you happy.”
But before I could turn around, he sighed deeply, obviously upset at not getting the reaction he’d hoped for. “Sage, what is this? Hm? Why are you acting this way?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, bringing as much innocence into my voice as possible. “Am I not doing everything to your satisfaction? I fuck you, suck your cock on demand, give my blood to you, and I don’t talk back or ask questions. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
His lip twitched, knowing he couldn’t really find any fault in my behavior aside from a nagging suspicion that something was off. “It is. It’s just…”
His phone beeped from where he’d left it on the dresser, and he picked it up, frowning at whatever notification he’d just received. “We’ll talk about this more in the morning.”
After putting the phone in his pocket, he finished the last cuff link by himself and then slipped on his suit jacket.
He started to walk out the door, and then sighed again.
“I know I’ve been busier than usual lately,” he said, not facing me.
“And I hope you’re not taking my recent absences personally. Believe me, I’d rather be here.”
Yes, I’ve heard newborns can be quite demanding, I wanted to say.
“Of course, alpha. You’re very important. I understand.”
He flinched again and then left.
As soon as the front door closed and the lock turned, I exhaled loudly, rumbling my lips in relief at finally being free to end the charade.
It was hard work being an emotionless vessel, and I deserved a long soak in the tub with a book as a reward.
* * *
Three months later
The lights flashed to let me know Victor was arriving. I sighed, scratching the top of Ember’s head from where I sat on the sofa, slowly peeling myself off with a big stretch and a yawn.
Victor’s heartfelt talks about how he missed my spark had led to nothing, and after several failed attempts to get some sort of reaction out of me, he was spiraling. It seemed as though having a bland, submissive sex toy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
He’d tried instituting “date nights” for a while, where he’d have dresses delivered and a table set for us in the living room so we could eat our meals together.
While I loved having something other than little negligees to wear, the efforts had been for naught. The conversations were boring, stilted, and forced. The food was the exact same iron-rich crap I’d been eating for the past five years, and even at his most charming, Victor did nothing for me.
I was well and truly becoming immune to him, and it was so incredibly freeing.
I got myself into position at the sound of him approaching the door, but then I heard him speaking in a tone I’d never heard before.
“Are you ready, my little man?”
No, no, he couldn’t possibly have thought to bring…
The door opened awkwardly as Victor entered, trying to maneuver a car seat through the entryway.
My blood turned to sludge in my veins, and my chest seized, making it difficult to breathe.
All my hard work… months of icing him out.
And he’d finally found a way to make me break again.
It just wasn’t fair.
It was beyond cruel.
“Victor,” I half choked, half whispered. “What…”
“I’m sorry, darling, but it appears I’m on babysitting duty today,” he said with a beleaguered, happy sigh. “Say hello to Alaric.”
The baby, with a mess of wispy auburn curls on his head, looked up at me with vampiric crimson eyes, gurgling happily.
“You… you had a baby… with someone else…”
Accalia had insisted they’d never slept together, but my gut was telling me something about this was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Victor’s face fell, and he gently put down the car seat and rushed to hold me, pulling me into his chest and running a hand down my hair.
“Shh, darling, no. We used a surrogate. I never strayed, I promise you.”
A surrogate? What a load of shit—I’d seen Accalia when she’d been almost ready to burst.
And yet the lie had flowed so smoothly out of him.
There was no telling what else he could be lying about.
“No, Victor, I don’t feel well… I can’t…”
He backed up, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Just hold him. You’ll feel better, I promise.”
How could that possibly make me feel better? I swayed on my feet, rubbing my hands up and down my scarred arms as I stared at the wall. I didn’t want to see Victor. I didn’t want to witness him as a loving father, to see a side of his personality that he’d shut me out from.
He lied, he lied, he lied.
He cheated, he cheated, he cheated.
Once the baby was out of his seat, he gave me a look, his brows knitting together as he assessed my mental state. “Go sit down first, darling, then I’ll give him to you.”
“I don’t think…” I whispered.
“Please, Sage? Trust me.”
His tone was soft. Way softer than he usually was, without a hint of bite or bark.
My gaze snapped back to him, and I nodded stiffly, making my way slowly back to where I’d been sitting.
He followed behind me, and once I was situated, he placed the baby in my shaking arms.
“That’s right, support his head like that… good.”
He was heavier than I thought he’d be, and while I tried not to focus too much on his face, to see the proof of his coupling with another woman, his delicate, powdery scent, mixed with milk and blood, hit my nose.
He smelled… he smelled so good, like something familiar I couldn’t quite name. I couldn’t keep myself from dipping my nose closer to the top of his head, breathing in deeper.
Victor chuckled from behind me, his hands propped on the back of the couch as he watched us. “See? You’re a natural.”
The baby looked at me and cooed, spit dribbling from his lips as he kicked his legs.
My chest felt tight again, but something was different. This was betrayal, but not from infidelity.
And then the baby smiled.
That dimple.
It reminded me of the dimple in my cheek…
The one I’d gotten from my father.
“No…” I whispered, the blood draining from my face.
“Yes,” he replied, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder. He wiggled his finger in the baby’s face. “Yes, Sage.”
“But… how…”
“The doctors told me pregnancy was too high-risk for you. So I found a surrogate to carry our child.”
Oh Hecara… the Ovessra… the pain and the exhaustion…
And Accalia… she was the surrogate.
He lifted my chin, forcing me to turn my head and look up at him. “Our child,” he repeated, his eyes glistening. “Isn’t he beautiful?”