Page 178 of Vampires of Eden

“Victoria—”

“He can feed from them right away. Maybe we’ll waive the dowry cost in exchange for their discretion? We can fix this disaster if we act quickly and discreetly.”

She looks between me and Father, her ponytail swinging. She waits for our confirmation as if she’s conjured a master plan for success.

This is… fucking absurd. In my chest, my heart breaks and the shattered pieces harden like lead. Sinking and fueling a growing rage. Even though Father told me as much—and maybe Iknewit within myself, vaguely. Seeing the evidence as clear as day makes something inside of me die. Something small and fragile that I didn’t realize I was holding onto.

Hope? That my mother would be rational, caring and put my well-being before her own desires. Maybe trust? That she would be on my side when it really came down to it. That appearances and other vampires’ opinions wouldn’t be valued above my own safety and well-being.

“No.” I say the word louder than necessary. Plainly. I meet her surprised gaze and I don’t look away.

Her eyes narrow. “No? No what?”

“No, I’m not breaking my bond with Daniel. No, I’m not feeding from Lady Batista or Lord Cherrington or ‘whoever.’ None of that is happening. The suggestion is crazy.” That’s all there is. I don’t know what happens next, but me walking away from Daniel is not it.

“Did you just call me ‘crazy’?” Mother steps forward, looking at me with her head tilted as if she’s trying to see intomy mind. As if she can make sense of me if she only looks harder.

I shake my head. “What you’re saying makes absolutely no sense?—”

Slap.

“Victoria!”

Father’s voice rings out as my cheek burns and tiny lights swirl in my vision. My breathing hitches from shock.

She hit me.

Slowly, I shift my face back to take her in. I… I can’t believe it.

“Victoria, you areseverelyout of line.”

“¿Has perdido la cabeza?” She stares at me, ignoring Father beside us.

Have you lost your mind?

She regards me as if she genuinely believes I’ve had a lapse in sanity and slapping me hard across the face will somehow re-set my brain. “Alejandro, we have to fix this as quickly as possible,” she says, blinking. “You’re confused because the first-gen leech has manipulated you. We’ll undo this and make him pay for what he’s done?—”

“You hit me.”

“Are you listening?”

“You hit me! You really just… My whole fucking life, I’ve done everything you’ve asked me to. I doone thingfor myself, and you hit me?”

She huffs, folding her arms. “Calm down, I didn’t hit you that hard—and you’ve done more than one thing for yourself! You brought that stupid cat home, for starters.”

“Jesus Christ, right—I’ll never live down rescuing an abandoned and starved kitten from a dirty alley. Stake me, why don’t you. I don’t eat meat either! Do you want to add that to my long list of selfish and egregious offenses? Oliver ran away, another failure on my part, right?”

Mother draws back. The look of astonishment she gives isalmost comical. “You cannot talk to me like this. What’s gotten into you? Calm down.”

“Calm down?” Now it’s my turn to laugh humorlessly. “What’s gotten into me? I’ve just had what’s probably the happiest, most fulfilling couple of weeks in my entire life. I come home to calmly, rationally talk about it with my mother and she fuckingslapsme.”

“Get over that already. And stop swearing and being disrespectful?—”

“Why should I respect you? I’ve listened to you and played by your stupid rules?—”

“Alejandro.”

“I tried to forget about Daniel all those years ago because you made me feel ashamed. I put everything I had into that empty, painful arrangement with Oliver andnothingcame from it but heartbreak and agony. He never wanted me! Turns out, he was smarter than all of us for not subscribing to this tired bullshit of arranged bondings and dowries.”