Vance's POV

Nadia must have been in shock. She definitely didn't expect that reaction for saying stuff about me getting into someone else's ‘bed'. Maybe if I understood the type of bed she meant and did not immediately overthink it, I wouldn't have reacted the way I did.


My mind just shot past everything she could have meant to Talia's death bed. I didn't even want a remote possibility of her knowing what I was up to when she was gone.

'Do you need ice?" I asked her. I didn't even care if she was going to respond or not, I just felt the need to undo what I did, at least try to.

'No. I'd rather develop a mark and make sure I wear clothes that would reveal it so everyone knows what I'm going through with you." She answered bitterly.


'And what good do you expect that to do?" I asked her.

'At least there's evidence that you were abusive." She replied, somewhat evasively.


'Yeah, I caught that part. I'm asking what you think that'd do for you." I sat down back on the bed at this point. She moved further to the edge of where she was already perched.

'You really do think all these people are happy with you and would stick with you through whatever shit you dish out to them?" Nadia asked me, staring straight into my eyes. If there was something her eyes were screaming at that point, it's hate. Pure hate.

'While that might be true, there's nothing you all can do put together." I dared her.

'You won't see it coming, Vance." She said and immediately stood up from the bed with such strength I didn't know he had.

I rushed over and shoved her back roughly. She was going to be explicit, else, she shouldn't have talked at all.

'What do you mean by that?! Have you started moving with the wrong crowd?!" I barked at her. I wanted to know everything she knew. God knows if I could tear her head open to get it, I would have done that a long time ago.

'What do you mean by 'wrong crowd'? Everyone in the pack? Cause you know damn well that nobody really fucka with you anymore. You're just a necessary evil." She spat angrily.

'Oh! I damn well know that. You know who else they don't like? The wolf who married her friend's mate!" These are waters I've never wanted to tread with Nadia, but she keeps bringing out the worst in me.

'I do, trust me. They also know that I couldn't refuse. I was picked. Never for once did I throw myself at you, Vance." Nadia was so sure and authoritative that it irritated the shit out of me.

'You mean except the night Talia and I got married?" The muscles in her face relaxed. I knew she couldn't make a comeback with that.

'That was a stupid drunk mistake, Vance. Trust me." Her desperate attempt to brush it off was even more funny.

'Same as when you ran to tell me that she had poisoned my food? That wasn't an attempt at something? You liked me so much more than her?" Nadia was weakened by every one of those questions and it was very apparent.

'I should have let you die." She spat bitterly.

'I think so too. I'd rather die eating Talia's food than do a lifetime with you." I said to her too. I hated that she was making me do this. Her face was already a mess with tears.

'Now I know." Nadia said sullenly. Any more thing I said after this would just have been shooting the dead.

'You keep bringing out the worst in me, Nadia." I said to her angrily.

'And you think you're doing anything different?" She shot back.

'I really don't care, to be honest. Let's just keep up with the facade." I replied to her.

'Why did you do this to me? If I started to compare you with Landon, you'd feel far less of a man than you do now." She replied. Nadia had some nerve to say that. I wanted to slap her across her face which still had some tear marks.

'And yet you kept running to me. Make it make sense." I responded proudly.

On many occasions while she was still with Vance and I was with Talia, she clearly said she wanted what ‘Talia is enjoying', in her own words.

Her face flushed with embarrassment.

'Sometimes I wish I had more control over my life." It did seem like she was talking to herself, but I also caught the feeling that I was meant to hear.

'Trust me when I say you'd fare far worse." I quipped annoyingly. She was clearly frustrated.

'There can't be anything worse than this." She shot at me.

'I'm tired of this back and forth, Nadia." And I was, really.

'You're the reason we're having it. You're the cause of every bad thing. You're the reason I'm so miserable, you're the reason Talia died, you keep confusing our destinies." I was stunned at her outburst, just when I thought we were done. These looked like allegations she's had against me for a while. They sounded premeditated.

'Where's all these from, Nadia?" I asked rather calmly. There was no use getting annoyed.

'Reality?" She responded sarcastically.

'You must be going mad, Nadia. You need to see the doctor." I brushed her off.

'When you sit alone, what do you think?" She asked me. 'How do you feel about your life choices?"

'I've made many wrong ones, apparently. But I'm a pretty decent person, yeah." I didn't know what she was driving at.

'Whatever Vance. Keep living in your bubble." She said and walked out.

I didn't bother going after her. It was of use. We were both drained. Thinking about it, I've really come a long way down. This house, my palace, used to be a shrine where I was the deity. The most respected, now, even Nadia has the guts to be so disrespectful.