Page 14 of Varro's Human Bride
“Thank you.”
Zylonn disappeared and Julie waited for several minutes, her dread growing with each shaky breath she inhaled. When she heard a door sliding open and shut, her stomach flipped. Nova’s worried face soon appeared on the screen as she settled in front of the video comm.
“Julie? Oh my God, what’s happened? You haven’t contacted me for weeks and whenever I tried calling you in New Leesburg, it said the connection was down. And now Zylonn tells me you’re calling from a video comm on Tarrkua. Is it true?” Nova’s eyes widened.
“I’m so sorry for not calling you for weeks, Nova. Listen, there’s something I have to tell you before I say anything else. It-it’s going to be difficult to hear.”
Nova leaned forward. “What is it? Are Mom and Dad okay?”
When Julie didn’t answer right away, Nova covered her mouth and burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, sis, but Mom and Dad are both gone. They died in a fire at the factory about two months ago.”
Nova shook her head back and forth as her tears fell. “Oh God, please no.”
“I’m so sorry. Maybe-maybe I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to wait until I reached Tarrkua. I’d hoped to tell you in person, but I don’t know where you live in relation to my new home.” Julie spoke softly while her sister wiped at her tears.
Nova took a deep breath and met Julie’s eyes. “Your new home? How is it you now live on Tarrkua? I don’t understand.”
“Do you remember Caylee?”
“Of course, I do. We studied together under the same Tarrkuan teacher.”
“We switched places. Her brother produced a fake palm print and attached it to my hand, so when the Tarrkuans scanned my palm just before I boarded theZenallia, they didn’t have a clue I wasn’t the real Caylee.” Julie touched her blonde locks, which now rested at her shoulders. “I even got a haircut to match hers. See?”
Nova’s mouth dropped open and she stared at Julie in astonishment. “You…switched…places,” she said slowly. “I-I can’t believe it. And it worked. I’m so happy to see you, and so happy you’re here on Tarrkua, but Mom and Dad…” Her voice trailed off and her face crumpled as more tears cascaded down her cheeks.
“I want to see you in person,” Julie said, “but we’ll have to figure out a way to do it in secret. My new husband—his name is Varro—he doesn’t know I’m not really Caylee. I have to keep it a secret for as long as possible. If he finds out before he starts to care about me, I worry he might send me back to Earth. After all, I can’t conceive children with him. But don’t worry, sis, I have a plan.”
“Dare I ask—what is this plan of yours?”
“It’s simple,” Julie replied. “I plan to make Varro fall madly in love with me.”
Nova smiled through her tears. “Oh, sis, I’ve missed you so much. How can I help?”
“Well, I’m not sure there’s any way you can help, but maybe you could come into the capital city in a few days. Varro is planning to take me on a tour of the city. Perhaps we could run into each other and pretend to be old friends. It’s no secret you also came from New Leesburg. I’ll try to find out the specific day of the tour and let you know.”
“It sounds like a great idea. I can’t wait to see you, and I have no doubt you’ll succeed in getting Varro to fall in love with you.” Nova paused for a moment and her visage turned thoughtful. “But more than anything, I hope you fall in love witheach other. You deserve happiness. Mom and Dad would have wanted you to be happy.”
“Thanks, I guess I hope for that, too. It would certainly be better if we both fell in love with each other, wouldn’t it? I only hope that when Varro discovers I’m not who I really say I am, he won’t be too angry. I feel awful for deceiving him and even worse that he has no idea I can’t conceive children with him. He’s the oldest among his brothers and his family is part of the ruling class. I have a feeling the lines of succession are more important in his family than in others.”
“I saw theZenallialanding yesterday afternoon. I know you haven’t known him for long, but how has he treated you so far?”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Julie couldn’t help but smile. “He’s treated me with kindness so far. He knows English, which is perfect because I’m still learning Tarrkuan, and he’s been patient with me on that front. He’s very dominant and I’m trying my best to please him and be the perfect mate. But he doesn’t strike me as cruel.” She didn’t add that she was also striving to please him so she didn’t end up on the receiving end of the leather strap he kept hanging next to their bed. Julie didn’t want to cause Nova any extra worry, and the fact remained that Varro had treated her rather gently thus far.
“That is good. I hope he continues treating you well. So, you think he’ll buy the story about us being old friends if we happen to run into one another in the capital city?”
“It’s crazy enough to work. Just remember—you’ll have to always call me Caylee in front of Varro. Zylonn and the kids will have to do the same. Well, maybe for now we should keep Zylonn and the kids out of it. I know your mate probably doesn’t want to take part in such a deception, especially when it’s inevitable that Varro will one day find out the truth. Just hopefully not anytime soon.”
A dark look crossed Nova’s face. “You’re right. Zylonn will not approve of any of this. I-I’m not sure what I should tell him though. I-I can’t lie to him, Julie. I’m terrible at lying, anyway.”
“Let’s put our heads together and figure something out. I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble with your mate.” Julie couldn’t be sure, but she thought Nova squirmed in her seat at the mention of trouble.
They both huddled close to their video comms and began to whisper of their plans.
Chapter 10
“Are you nervous?” Varro approached Caylee from behind and wrapped his arms around her as she checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror.
