Chapter Five – Aria
If he'd just apologize, she would forgive him in a heartbeat.
Aria stared out the window, her arms folded over her chest as the French landscape zipped by. Getting mad at her because of something somebody else did was bad enough, but Gavin was acting as if she should be apologizing to him. Yeah, slapping him had been a mistake – and she had apologized for it – but she wasn't going to back down on everything else. He had no right to be angry with her over Monique's caveman – as if the vampire queen saying she chose a man for Aria to 'breed' with instantly made her a guilty party.
She certainly wasn't going to apologize for being angry that he said she belonged to him. Like she was his property. Like it was her job to keep his ego intact.
Gavin sat across from her in the limo, looking poised as ever, also watching the scenery. She hated seeing him like that. As soon as she opened her mouth to talk to him, he'd be cold and distant, like he had been since the whole incident happened. They had spent two days in Paris, and every minute she was on her feet, at his elbow while he talked trade and other diplomatic things that she had no interest in. At night, he'd gulp down a mouthful of blood and send her away.
It was almost as if now that he'd taken her virginity, there was nothing else about her that interested him. Aria hadn't expected any sort of deep commitment. She hadn't even expected to start dating. But it would have been nice to at least be acknowledged. Maybe sleeping in his bed that first night they were there had been too much. But he hadn't protested.
"Are you still mad at me?" Gavin asked suddenly.
"Yeah. I am."
Gavin growled. "Why?"
She narrowed her eyes at the king. "If you're seriously asking me that… You know what? This is over. As soon as my father's debt is paid, I'm out of here."
Gavin's eyes widened. "What?"
"What, what? I want nothing more to do with you." Tears pricked her eyes and her stomach churned. "You acted like a decent person until I spread my legs for you. Then all of a sudden humans aren't people, they're just your trade resources. We're nothing more than hormone-driven animals to you."
"I never said that."
"Yes, you did. You got mad at me because of Monique's breeding program, and I never heard you say anything about not participating in it."
Gavin folded his arms and turned his face away, chewing the inside of his cheek. The fact that he wasn't denying it made it that much worse. Aria's fists clenched. She wanted some sort of reaction from him, something to show that he understood where she was coming from!
"Well?" she demanded. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
"I think you've said it all."
Aria swallowed down bile. What else had she been expecting? Her father's debt would be paid in two years. She'd have to find a way to make this bearable until then. But, for the moment, she wanted to be as far away from the king as possible.
"Stop the car, I'm getting carsick. I need some air."
***
Four Months Later
The universe hated her. There was no other explanation for everything that was happening. Everything from finding out her father owed Gavin a massive debt to… this moment. Aria stretched out on her plush couch, phone to her ear as she waited for her father to pick up. Her natural weight was helping to conceal it for now, but it wouldn't be long until Gavin found out.
"Hello?"
The sound of her father's voice made relief wash over her and her eyes fill with tears. "Hi, Papa."
"Aria? What's wrong, honey? You sound like you've been crying."
"No. No, I'm not crying." Not yet at least. "Papa? I'm pregnant." Silence. Nausea hit her, but she breathed through it. "Papa? Are you still there?"
"I'm here. What happened? Did he… hurt you?"
She knew he would react this way. Her father had always seen her as the perfect angel girl. She had never felt comfortable talking to him about any feminine things. They hadn't actually ever had a discussion about sex or menstrual cycles. Sonya's mother had told her about that kind of stuff. In fact, she had her period for almost two years before she told her father. And that was because all of her allowances was being spent on pads, and she was tired of having no money for herself.
"He didn't hurt me, Papa. I… I may have lost my head, but he didn't make me do anything I didn't want to do. But I don't know what to do now. I don't know if he's going to believe me…" Aria sniffed. "I didn't know a vampire could get me pregnant."
"Come home, Aria. If you can't trust him, then he's no good for you."
Aria sighed. Leaving Gavin and returning home was tempting. Their relationship hadn't improved at all since Paris. Was there any hope for the future? But even leaving wasn't an option. "If I come back home, you'll go to jail to settle your debt. I can't have that happen, Papa."
"No." Her father's voice was shocked. "Aria, honey, the debt has been expunged. I heard about it about four months ago. I thought you knew. I thought you were staying to earn more money to help with your university."
The debt was paid? Ice flooded her as she remembered the first day she had been here… when things were growing heated between her and Gavin, and she told him that if he wanted to sleep with her he had to wipe out her father's debt. Apparently, he had taken it to heart.
And when he had taken her in the limo on their way to Paris, he must have decided that she was worth the price. No wonder he had gotten so angry when Queen Monique brought out that caveman. Gavin thought that he had bought her. He thought she really did belong to him.
Her stomach churned. The tears she had been fighting started to pour down her face. "I've got to go, Papa. I'll call you later."
"Aria—"
"I have to go."
She hung up. What an idiot she had been… sticking around here for four months when she should have known that Gavin would have considered their intimacies just a business transaction. All the blood she had given him since – was she getting paid for that? Her chest ached as she held in a sob. She hated this. Hated that this is how she was going to have her first child.
And that was another thing. Both her hands rested on her belly. When she realized she was pregnant, her first reaction had been sheer joy. But that was quickly tempered by uncertainty. How could she be a mother in this situation? Especially with a father who was the vampire king…
She hadn't told Gavin about her pregnancy. He probably already knew. He probably didn't care. Or maybe that was why he was keeping her around now, even though the debt was paid. Maybe what he wanted from her now was the baby. In any case, it hurt more than she cared to admit, knowing that he had treated her like a prostitute. Even though he had no reason to treat her any other way.
She glanced at her cell phone and jumped. It was almost time for Gavin to drink from her. She hurriedly turned on a movie, fast-forwarding it to a sad part to excuse her tears.
She was just in time. Gavin entered the room moments later. He stopped in the doorway, looking startled for a moment. His gaze flickered to the TV and he sighed. Aria paused the movie as he came in, wiping her face while she shrugged off her cardigan.
"How are you today?" the king asked her stiffly. "Do you feel better?"
"A bit. But I'm still really tired." She had told him she had a cold, and that was why she had been staying in her room rather than standing at his side throughout the day's business. "I'd like to stay in and rest for a few more days, though."
Gavin nodded. He sat down beside her and took her wrist in his hands. She tugged it free. If he drank, he would leave right away. She needed to talk to him about this. But how? Just blurting out that she was pregnant didn't seem like a great idea. Although if he already knew, it didn't matter the way she told him.
"I heard that vampires and humans can still have babies together," she blurted. "Even though you're undead… I mean, all the myth stuff isn't true. You can go out into the sun and you don't turn into a bat… And you used to be human, right? So it's possible?"
The king snorted. "No. It is impossible for vampires to either become pregnant or father a child. I've heard of those myths where a human claims to have gotten pregnant by a vampire, but that's all it is. A myth. Those humans are just covering up their infidelity. They're liars."
He'd think she was a liar, too. Aria knew she shouldn't care, but his words stung. As Gavin grasped her wrist again, she thought about telling him. Maybe even telling him she knew that her debt was gone and there was no reason for her to stay. As his fangs pierced her skin and she began shuddering, she decided that she wasn't going to say anything. Not yet, at least.
It's because I don't want to give up this finery, she thought, her toes curling into the silk rug. That's it. I just don't want to give this up.