Page 103 of The Artist
All my life, I’d been raised to be Aubri’s protector and then she ended up sacrificing herself to protect me. I would have never allowed it if my child and Belle hadn’t been involved. After my initial shock that day in Rafael’s office, I had tried to talk Aubri out of staying. She had been firm that she wanted this opportunity to do something heroic. She had smiled and told me that securing the freedom of Belle and my unborn child would make her the coolest aunt ever. I’d been torn, and only Indiana’s assurance that he wouldn’t leave Aubri’s side made me finally leave Europe without my twin sister.
How could I ever repay my sister and our friend? It was because of them that my unborn child and the woman I wanted to spend my life with were now behind the door I kept passing every time I paced back and forth.
If Belle would just talk to me.
She had isolated herself and I had no idea how to address the sadness I saw on her pretty face. Picking up a small ball, I threw it from hand to hand but kept pacing.
I wanted to know if she had regretted her choice to come back with me. The rushed way we’d left her home country hadn’t allowed her time to say goodbye to her friends or even pick up more stuff from her apartment. The paintings on the wall that told a story of her life were still back there and I had no idea what would happen to them.
I should write Victor.Freya would know how to since she’d been responsible for communicating with the other delegations for this year’s summit.
Just thinking about Victor’s offensive words when he spoke about wanting to die rather than marry Freya made me growl. Turning, I smashed the small ball into the duvet on my bed.That fucker!
My nose itched and my eyes stung as I fought back tears of frustration. Inevercried.
But the bombardment of thoughts showed me everything at once. From my sister staying in France, and Belle hiding in her room, to my mother’s panic attack when she learned about the mortality rate of Explorers. I tried to clear my head but the I was haunted by the disappointment in my father’s eyes every time he looked at me. All of it was ripping me apart.
How would I live with myself if Aubri or Indiana were injured or killed? I tore my hands through my hair and plunked myself down on the upholstered bench at the foot-end of my bed. After all that had happened, how would I explain to my parents that Belle didn’t even want to marry me?
Leaning forward, I sat with my elbows on my knees and my hands in my hair. If I had been a man of my father’s generation, I would have marched into Belle’s room and demanded that she marry me now that she was carrying my child. Hell, my father would have probably spanked her into submission if he were me. But I couldn’t do that. Belle wasn’t a Northlander woman like my mother who appreciated a strong and firm husband.
I had to be patient and gentle with Belle: something that was outside my expertise. I’d been raised to go after what I wanted. It drove me crazy to be this close to Belle and feel her distance herself.
A sound from the connecting door made me stiffen.
“Mason.”
I turned my head to see Belle standing in the doorway. She was wearing what looked like sleepwear. Her multi-colored socks were tugged up over her blue pajama pants and her top sported printed butterflies. With her long brown hair gathered to one side, she walked toward me. Her pace was slow as if she was approaching an animal that might snap out and bite her.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” She stopped in front of me and touched the cut on my cheek. “It’s healing.”
“Yeah.” I moved over and patted the seat next to me, silently asking her to sit down.
She complied and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Hmm.” I bobbed my shoulders in a tiny shrug, unwilling to let her know how my head was exploding with self-blame and confusion. “What about you?”
Folding her hands in her lap, she looked down. “I’m sorry that you’ve been fighting with your family. And that Aubri had to stay in order for me to come back here. I understand if you regret our ever meeting.”
I let out a groan. “Don’t say that. Of course I don’t regret meeting you.”
“You’re upset.”
There was no use in denying what was obvious, so I nodded. “We’re all worried about what will happen to Indiana and Aubri.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
I sighed. “And I still haven’t told my family that you don’t want to marry me.”
She quietly stared at her hands for a long moment until she asked in a tone close to a whisper, “Mason, why do you want to marry me?”
“Because…” I swallowed hard and I tried to get the words right. “I know you think it’s because of the baby, and that I don’t love you, but that’s not true. Remember at the welcome reception when we had that fight? I didn’t want Jones to write you because I was sure you’d break his heart?”
She lifted her gaze and met my eyes. “Yes, I remember.”
Shifting in my seat, I bared my soul to her. “The truth is that I didn’t want you to look at him the way you’d been looking at me for years. I wanted you to myself, Belle.”
