Page 64 of Sophie's Ruin
“I know, but I was jealous…and scared.”
“Scared?”
“I could see the way Henry was looking at you. The way he was acting around you. In you, he had found his mate. Someone to share his everlasting nights with. I knew because I’d seen that before…Vincent and Rosalind had been like that before she died. When you were around them, it always felt like they were one, moving in unison. They existed for each other. They were just gracious enough to welcome others into their circle. And when I saw that look in Henry’s eyes directed toward you…fear set in, that you would take him away from me. That it would no longer be he and I. It would be you and him, and I would be cast aside.”
“No,” I told her vehemently, sitting up straighter in my chair. “That’s not what I want. I would never allow that to happen. I want us to be a family. All three of us.”
“Four.” The word seemed to have escaped unintentionally, and Isabelle’s eyes widened as she caught herself.
“What?” I asked quietly. I had a feeling I knew what she’d meant, but I wanted to nudge her gently toward her own realization. After a moment, it washed over her face as shock, but also awe and wonder.
“Four of us,” Isabelle said with a small smile. “You, me, Henry, and Wren.”
“Four of us then.” I gave an answering smile, but it was fleeting, as the corners of my mouth turned down. I didn’t know if Henry would still have me when he woke up.
“I can see what you’re thinking, and you need to stop,” Isabelle said sternly. “When Henry wakes up, he’ll be overjoyed to see you here, and you two will be able to put the past few nights behind you.”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“I do.” Isabelle nodded. “That’s what Vincent would have done for Rosalind, and we both know Henry is a lot like his father.”
“You were going to tell me how you joined the Duval clan?” I prompted again.
I needed something to occupy my mind, so it didn’t go to dark places, as dread threatened to swallow me whole. I hoped Isabelle was right about how Henry would feel about me being here when he woke up, but I didn’t know for certain that was how things would unfold. He might open his eyes and recoil in my presence, cursing the day I’d come into his life. He might banish me… My heart turned over with another wave of dread. I didn’t know what I would do if he sent me away. I couldn’t face eternity without him.
“I was twenty-three years old when I was turned,” Isabelle’s voice rang out in the quiet room, pulling me from my dreary thoughts. I latched on to her words, focusing on her story instead of the possible tragedy that was unfolding in my head. “The vampire that turned me…” She released a shaking breath. “Well, imagine Stern and Moreau combined into one despicable being, who fed on pain and suffering as well on blood.” A shudder rolled through her. “I was an orphan, and never knew an easy life, becoming a lady of the night at an early age. The one who sired me was a client who liked me so much he wanted to keep me…for all eternity. Or until he got tired of me, I suppose. Either way, he wanted me to be less…breakable, to be able to endure all the twisted and depraved things he liked to do…”
Isabelle’s eyes became glassy, as she stared into the distance as if lost in the terrible memories. Another shudder racked her as all color drained from her face. Her delicate throat worked on a swallow, and silence filled the room for a few seconds until Isabelle blinked, returning to the present. When she refocused on me, her eyes were glimmering with tears.
“Vincent knew my sire, and when he learned about what he was doing to me, he confronted him. The one who turned me lashed out, and Vincent killed him in self-defense. He then freed me from the cellar where I was being kept.”
My throat closed up as I stared at Isabelle. She’d endured so much. I had the urge to go to her, to wrap my arms around her in a sign of support, but I knew the gesture would be unwelcome. If I knew anything about Isabelle, it was that she didn’t need or want my pity. Even after everything she’d been through, she was a fighter, not a victim. It didn’t go unnoticed, though, that she’d never called her abuser by his name, but I didn’t think it was out of fear. It was because she didn’t want to give him that much importance. Because he wasn’t important. He was a part of her past, but he was not the one who’d formed Isabelle’s character. It was Vincent, when he’d shown her kindness.
“After he’d freed me, he tried to take me in. They were already a family: Vincent, Rosalind, Gerard, and Henry.” A small, reminiscent smile graced her lips. “They opened their home to me, but I…” She swallowed again. “I was too scared to trust them, to trust Vincent. I feared I was exchanging one abuser for another, so I escaped. I was no better than a Ravager then, bringing pain and suffering everywhere I went. Henry found me and tried to convince me that Vincent was different from the one who’d sired me, that the Duvals were different from the other vampires, but I didn’t believe him, not at first. I remained on the move, never lingering in one place, but Henry kept finding me and talking to me, until one day, I began looking forward to our conversations, to him finding me, because it was during those moments when I felt the most human, sane. He didn’t give up on me, and eventually, he convinced me to join the clan because that’s what he does. He finds the ones who are lost and saves them even when they don’t realize that they need saving.”
“Even if they don’t deserve it,” I said low, my voice hollow.
I didn’t deserve it,I didn’t need to add.
Isabelle’s knowing brown eyes settled on me.
“When he comes to, you let him make that decision. Don’t take the choice away from him,” she said.
I just stared at her, unsure of how to respond. A part of me wanted to take the choice away from him, to flee like a coward before he woke up. Because then it would be me leaving him, and not the other way around. In the end, it didn’t matter—my heart would still be shattered forever—but at least I wouldn’t be here to see the loathing in Henry’s eyes when he came to. I wouldn’t be here to hear him say I was a monster and didn’t deserve him.
“Sophie?” Isabelle said, snapping me from my thoughts.
“Thank you for sharing,” I told her in a tone that I hoped conveyed how much her opening up meant to me.
She nodded and then rose to her feet.
“As much as I hate to admit it, telling you my story took a lot out of me. I need a little time to regain my composure,” she told me.
“You’re leaving?” I asked, my voice panicked as Isabelle left Henry’s side and headed for the door.
I was terrified of being alone with Henry. What if he woke up while it was just me in the room? What if I saw hatred blazing in his eyes when he finally pried them open? My heartbeat sped up in my chest.
“Whatever it is you fear will not happen,” Isabelle said, stopping by me on her way out. “You asked me if I had doubts about Wren and me. Well, you need to cast aside your own doubts about you and Henry. Your love is stronger than this. It will persevere.”
