“How did you know I would come here?” I ask him.
“I know you,” he says simply.
“You knew,” I accuse him. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me. Why?”
He takes my hand and pulls me down onto the bed next to him. “If I had told you, especially before we had proof, then it would have made me look petty and like I was trying to sabotage your relationship with him.”
“Since when did that ever stop you?” I ask.
“Since you are my wife and I never want to see you hurt,” he replies.
“So, it’s true then?” I don’t really want to hear the answer.
“I’m afraid so,” he says. “What did you tell him to do?”
I stand abruptly and walk over to the windows. “I told him to do whatever he wants. I am not being held responsible for this, Constantine. It’s not my mess.” For once, I add silently. I fiddle with the curtain as I wait for his reprimand about being a neglectful sire. It doesn’t come, so I turn to him and add, “How are we supposed to deal with this? What if he wants to claim the child and files for joint custody? Then what? He brings him to the Underworld where the three of us raise him amongst Demons and Vampires?” I actually expect an answer here, because I haven’t got any.
“I don’t know,” he says eventually.
“Well, you are a great help,” I say and turn back to the windows. “You know, this day was the pits before he told me his secret.”
“Oh?” he asks with more than a little interest. “Things not go well with the Demon?”
I shoot daggers at him with my eyes and say, “No, that was fine,” choosing to leave out Sven and his threats. “It’s Lincoln.”
“What about him?” CK says, standing up.
“We are no longer together. Happy?” I snarl at him and turn back to fiddle with the curtain again. I am this close to falling into a black pit of despair, when he wraps his arms around me, and I sink against him and weep. Not for Lincoln, but for my relationship with Cole. If he chooses the child, he turns his back on me. It’s as simple as that.
“We need to sort it out, Aefre,” he says quietly before he kisses my ear. “He is in no fit state to make a monumental decision like this.”
“What if I make him choose and he regrets it later on?” I ask.
“Then so be it,” he says. “No one can see into the future, Aefre. Well, except maybe you,” he says and smiles gently. “We just have to deal with the situation now and the consequences later. The longer this goes on the worse it will be for everyone. And if you have forgotten, you are not innocent of this yourself.” He reminds me of my crimes in this area with more than a little bitterness. I sigh as I am once again just being the biggest hypocrite known to man.
“Just hold me,” I say.
He picks me up and carries me to the bed and tucks me up in his arms. I feel safe and loved and confident that he won’t let me down again. After his declaration last night, I truly know how much he loves me. I was too choked up to say anything to him. I have to make that right. It meant more to me than anything anyone has ever said. “You are the only one I can count on right now,” I say. “You are the only one who truly knows me and what I need. You anticipate what I want, and you deliver. Every single time.” I smile at him and he is beaming down at me, happy with my acknowledgment of his words last night. “I will love you forever, my husband. You are my one true love.” I rest my head on his chest and fall into an exhausted sleep.
When I awake, I am still wrapped in his arms. He is awake and staring at the ceiling. The firelight flickers against the growing dark and I sit up. “When did you get a fireplace in here again?” I ask.
He chuckles. “After you told me off for not replacing the old one,” he says. “Georges arranged it before they started work on the Tower.”
“Ah yes, the weasley worm,” I say darkly. “Is the Tower fixed now?” I add cautiously.
He nods, not really wanting to talk about it either. “It’s off limits,” he says with his own dark tone.
“Hm,” I say. He has a tendency to do that. Shut off areas of his home that he associates with bad things. Maybe I should try that with my brain.
“About that,” he ventures, and I am surprised he wants to talk about it. “There is perhaps something you should know. In the interest of full disclosure and honesty and all that.”
I cross my legs and he copies me, taking my han
ds. “Please don’t,” I say. “I don’t think my heart can take any more devastation today.”
“It’s not bad, per se. Just something you need to know,” he says.
“Okay,” I say and wait.