Aliyah was still in bed, sleeping. Silently, he went straight to her dressing room and shoved some of her clothes into one of her suitcases. He was almost done when she showed up at the doorway.
“What are you doing?” she asked, in a puzzled tone.
“Packing your clothes, we’re leaving,” he explained, in a stern tone.
“Leaving? Where to?” she asked, looking as astounded as she sounded.
“Well, I thought you wanted to leave my ranch as soon as possible,” he said. “I’m just making it happen.”
Aliyah looked at him with sheer disbelief written on her face, for a few seconds. With her heart aching like it never had, she shook her head and toughened up. He was not finding out just how deep he had hurt her.
“You should have told me sooner. I would have packed my own things,” she replied, in a cold tone, entering the room and finishing his job, just leaving out the clothes she would put on. “There, now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get dressed,” she asked, him pointing at the huge t-shirt she liked to use as pajamas.
“Certainly. I’ll wait for you downstairs,” he accepted and left the room.
A silent tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped immediately, furious with her reaction. She had asked for this. She shouldn’t be surprised or feel betrayed just because he had come to his senses.
It proved he had never really cared for her, but she already knew that. Of course, it still hurt like hell, but she would survive. She always did, and this time it wouldn’t be any different.
She put on her clothes as fast as possible, and after a quick visit to the bathroom, she was ready to leave.
She found Vrak waiting for her at the main door, pacing the hallway impatiently, and she figured he couldn’t wait to get rid of her, now that he had made his decision.
“Can I get something to eat before we go?” she asked, with a sarcastic tone, not really hungry, just testing his impatience.
“I already got us some food. You can eat on our way,” he snorted at her, opening the door and inviting her to leave.
“You seem to be in a hurry…” she mocked him, with a scornful grin.
“I just want to get this over with,” he replied, taking her bags and putting them in the vehicle.
“Of course, you do.”
Without even looking back, she got in the vehicle and closed the door, waiting for whoever was driving her away to get in.
She should have been surprised when Vrak took the driver’s seat, but for some reason, she wasn’t. She guessed he wanted to make sure she reached her destiny as he had been asked.
They drove for a while in silence, as the vehicle faced the strong winds and the snow falling untiringly. There were moments Aliyah thought the vehicle would overturn with the strength of the wind gusts, but fortunately, it didn’t happen.
“If you’re hungry, you’ll find some food in that container,” he said, after a while, pointing at the vehicle’s back seat.
“I’m not hungry anymore,” she assured him, her eyes set on the road ahead of them. “How long will it take us to get to our destination?” she asked, wanting to know how long would that torture last.
“In normal conditions, we would get there by the end of the day, but with the wind and snow, it will take a bit longer,” he explained.
“I didn’t think we were that far from the meeting point,” she stated with a slight frown, not sure she liked the idea of traveling during the night. “Will we stop for the night?” she asked, still not looking at him.
“We’ll see when the time comes. So we’re up for a long trip. Get something to eat and get me something too, please.”
She nodded and did as he told her. She couldn’t understand why he had decided to take her out in this weather, but she sure as hell was not going to ask. Instead, she grabbed some juice and a couple of sandwiches and handed him his share.
He put the vehicle on autopilot, and they ate in silence. She guessed there wasn’t much else to say between them, so after they finished, she leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes.
Aliyah didn’t think she would sleep since the vehicle bounced a lot due to the wind but the next time she opened her eyes, it was night time. The wind seemed a bit weaker, and it wasn’t snowing that much.
She straightened up in her seat and looked at Vrak. “Where are we?” she asked, feeling a bit dizzy.
“Still traveling, but we’ll arrive in a few minutes. Fortunately, the storm is a lot weaker here, and I’ve been able to travel faster,” Vrak explained.
The news made her stomach churn, but she did her best to hide her reaction. “Good. Are we expected at this late hour?” she asked, biting her lips to stop them from trembling.
Now that they were here, she didn’t want to face her destiny. He had been right, of course. The idea of getting under another man’s sheets, allowing him to touch her, and make love to her, made her feel nauseous. She wasn’t even sure she would be able to pull it off.
She planned to get to know the man and make sure he understood they weren’t meant for each other and have him cancel the deal. She knew that wouldn’t be easy, but she was willing to try it, even if it meant she would have to go back to Earth. She knew she couldn’t cancel the deal herself. The fees and fines established in the contract were way too high, and she couldn’t afford them.
She could have told Vrak all that, in the morning when she woke up, after spending the night rolling in bed, looking for a way out of the sizzling hell she had gotten herself into. But, his decision to take her to the meeting point had proven she had never been more than a whim for him.
Her heart ached, and she let out a silent sigh, wishing she could stop the time. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Vrak. She wasn’t ready for that, and she was starting to think she would never be.
Rubbing her face, she looked out of the window, a bit surprised to see they were surrounded by deep woods. She had thought the meeting point was on a beach.
“Are you sure we’re almost there?” she asked him, with a slight frown.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied, as he made a sudden turn towards a narrow road. “In fact, we have just arrived,” he added, as the vehicle lights showed a small wooden construction, in the middle of the woods.
He pressed a small button on a remote control and a garage door opened up on the left side of the house.
“What is this place?” she asked, still not understanding what was going on.
He didn’t answer. He simply drove the vehicle into the garage and closed the door behind them. “Come, let’s go inside.”
For a moment, she considered demanding an answer, but now that the vehicle was turned off, she was starting to feel the cold. Though it wasn’t snowing, it felt even colder than when she was at his ranch. The walls of the garage didn’t do much to keep the cold out.
Shuddering, she jumped out and grabbed her things, following him inside the cabin.
Vrak was turning on the lights and the heat, and it only took it a few moments for the place to feel warm enough for her to stop trembling.
She turned around looking at the place. Though it was very basic, with a big living room connected to the kitchen, the place was cozy, as if whoever lived there had put some thought into its decoration, making sure it looked more like a home and not simply a place where you sleep.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her, checking the kitchen’s cabinets.
She was famished. “A bit, yes.”
“I’ll prepare a couple of sandwiches for us, and after that, we should get some rest. It’s very late.”
Aliyah opened her mouth to ask about her future husband, but considering the time, she assumed he would be coming for her in the morning, so she agreed to his plans, and a few minutes later they were eating.
“Whose house is this?” she asked, curious.
“It belongs to a friend. He uses this place as a refuge. He comes here whenever he needs to get away from his demons,” he replied in an impersonal tone.
“That sounds bad.”
“We all have our own demons.”
She nodded. “It’s a lovely place.”
He looked around as if he hadn’t noticed the way the cabin looked. “Yes, I guess.”
She finished eating, and gathering all her courage, she voiced the question she had meant to ask ever since they left his ranch. “So… when is my future husband arriving?” she asked, in a low tone.
“Here? Hopefully, never,” he replied, getting up and taking his plate to the dishwasher.
“What do you mean never?” she asked, following him, sure she had misunderstood him.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the word never, right?”
“Vrak, don’t play games with me. You took me away from your ranch this morning, to take me to the meeting point…” Aliyah stopped when he started shaking his head.
“I never said that. All I told you was that I was taking you away from my ranch. You assumed the rest.”
She stared at him with her mouth open, for a few moments. “What did you do?” she was finally uttered.
“I told you I wasn’t going to let you get out of my life,” he stated, in a determined tone. “Kahm called me last night to tell me the Sumirion wasn’t willing to wait for another wife to arrive, in a moon rotation.”
“You… you… abducted me!” she shouted.
He gave her a crooked smile. “You came of your own free will. You even packed your things,” he pointed out.
“You tricked me, you told me you were taking me away from your ranch, just like I wanted you to…” she protested.
“And I did, but I also did what I told you. I kept you at my side. No Sumirion warrior is going to take my woman away from me.”
“I’m not your woman. I’m his woman,” she reminded him, almost hysterical, sure this whole story was going to end badly.
“Not yet…”
“This is insane, it will never work, they will come for us,” she mumbled, rubbing her face.
He closed the distance between them and cradled her face, kissing her forehead. “They won’t find us here. Bulk is the only one that knows where to find us, and he would never betray us,” Vrak assured her.
She covered his hands with hers and forced him to release her. She couldn’t think with him so close to her. “And you’re what? Planning on staying here forever? Are you willing to abandon everything you’ve worked for?” she asked him in a cold tone.
He shook his head. “The Sumirions will have to accept my deal, eventually. And if he doesn’t,” he shrugged, “I can always get you pregnant, and that would be the end of his claim on you.”