Page 42 of Blood Claims
“Relax, sweetheart, I can hear you heart racing,” Victor said after first taking my spare hand in his. As for Tal, he had already started pointing to a few dresses he liked, telling the woman,
“We will, of course, need shoes and whatever accessories needed to match.”
Hearing this made me grip Victor’s hand tighter and he sighed next to me before he lifted my hand up to his lips to kiss the inside of my wrist.
“Calm for me, Vanessa,”he hummed against my skin.
“This is too much, please, Victor, if you really want me to buy a dress then can’t we just go somewhere I am used to? Why does it need to be here?” Again, he sighed before shifting his body side on, making the pristine white-leather sofa creak under his weight as he faced me.
“What makes you so uncomfortable?”
“I don’t belong here. I don’t belong in one of these dresses, it’s not me. It’s not who I am, and dressing me up like some doll of yours won’t change that.”
He frowned before asking me in a hard tone,
“Is that what you think we are doing here, trying to change you?”
“Isn’t it?” I pressed.
“No, it is not,” he replied sternly, with a tick in his defined jawline jumping.
“Then why?” I asked again, unable to keep the vulnerable tone from the question.
“Because I want only the best for my Fated and therefore would happily pay for the best if that is what I desire.”
I sighed.
“And what about what I want?” I argued.
“What you want is irrational and born solely from a life of scraping by. A life shrouded in debt and depriving yourself out of necessity. But that life is no longer yours, for it is not one I will allow you to live…ever again.”This last part was said hard enough to make me flinch. But whether it was one he felt, I didn’t know, because he continued all the same.
“You are our responsibility now, whether you like it or not, and therefore should we choose to lavish you with gifts, the very best clothes, and cover you head to toe in diamonds, then that is our right to do so.” At this my mouth dropped in what was no doubt an unattractive way.
Was he for real!?
“But you… I mean, I can’t… you can’t…” I was lost for words and therefore started to stumble to find them.
“I can and we will. But make no mistake here, Vanessa, we are not doing this to try and change you, we do this because no one has ever taken care of you before and you deserve it more than most.” This time, the astonishment on my face was blindingly obvious as my mouth dropped yet again.
“But how do you know that? You… you don’t really know anything about me.” This was yet another argument that fell flat on its face.
“We know enough. Which means that if we wish to spend our money on you, then nothing will stop us from doing so. You haven’t asked us for anything, when in reality you could have asked us for the world, and we would currently be doing everything in our power to give it to you.”
“Victor…” I gasped.
“But seeing as you haven’t, then let this be a small token of what we choose to give you,” he added, making me pull my hand from his so I could rub my forehead in frustration.
“A small token, Victor, your brother looks like he is ready to buy me the whole damn shop,” I pointed out, making Victor smirk.
“And if we wish it, we will. Now you can choose to make a fuss and cause a scene, where we will simply ignore it and buy it anyway…”
I rolled my eyes and groaned.
“…or you could relax and enjoy the experience, without us filling your new closet with stuff you would never wear and would therefore go to waste.”
I finally released the biggest sigh yet, one that was admitting defeat as I commented,
“You’re not going to let me win this argument, are you?”
