“Victor,” I half choked, half whispered. “What…”
“I’m sorry, darling, but it appears I’m on babysitting duty today,” he said with a beleaguered, happy sigh. “Say hello to Alaric.”
The baby, with a mess of wispy auburn curls on his head, looked up at me with vampiric crimson eyes, gurgling happily.
“You… you had a baby… with someone else…”
Accalia had insisted they’d never slept together, but my gut was telling me something about this was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Victor’s face fell, and he gently put down the car seat and rushed to hold me, pulling me into his chest and running a hand down my hair.
“Shh, darling, no. We used a surrogate. I never strayed, I promise you.”
A surrogate? What a load of shit—I’d seen Accalia when she’d been almost ready to burst.
And yet the lie had flowed so smoothly out of him.
There was no telling what else he could be lying about.
“No, Victor, I don’t feel well… I can’t…”
He backed up, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Just hold him. You’ll feel better, I promise.”
How could that possibly make me feel better? I swayed on my feet, rubbing my hands up and down my scarred arms as I stared at the wall. I didn’t want to see Victor. I didn’t want to witness him as a loving father, to see a side of his personality that he’d shut me out from.
He lied, he lied, he lied.
He cheated, he cheated, he cheated.
Once the baby was out of his seat, he gave me a look, his brows knitting together as he assessed my mental state. “Go sit down first, darling, then I’ll give him to you.”
“I don’t think…” I whispered.
“Please, Sage? Trust me.”
His tone was soft. Way softer than he usually was, without a hint of bite or bark.
My gaze snapped back to him, and I nodded stiffly, making my way slowly back to where I’d been sitting.
He followed behind me, and once I was situated, he placed the baby in my shaking arms.
“That’s right, support his head like that… good.”
He was heavier than I thought he’d be, and while I tried not to focus too much on his face, to see the proof of his coupling with another woman, his delicate, powdery scent, mixed with milk and blood, hit my nose.
He smelled… he smelled so good, like something familiar I couldn’t quite name. I couldn’t keep myself from dipping my nose closer to the top of his head, breathing in deeper.
Victor chuckled from behind me, his hands propped on the back of the couch as he watched us. “See? You’re a natural.”
The baby looked at me and cooed, spit dribbling from his lips as he kicked his legs.
My chest felt tight again, but something was different. This was betrayal, but not from infidelity.
And then the baby smiled.
That dimple.
It reminded me of the dimple in my cheek…
