“Don’t you think I want to believe that this could really happen, Aiden?” I burst out. “I dreamed of having a family of my own for the past decade. I longed for your embrace. I longed for hers. But neither of you were there! Ben was there for me and when he could no longer be there, Derek filled that place in my life that you were supposed to fill. Derek became the man of my life when you should’ve been the one holding that spot. Now, in the midst of all this, you just want me to welcome both you and Camilla with open arms. You want me to forget that you lied to me about finding a cure so you could stab Derek in the back. You want me to forget that Camilla watched without even flinching as Borys physically abused me.”
Aiden’s shoulders sagged. He knew he was guilty. He knew she was guilty. I knew that he knew. I was so overwhelmed by emotion; I began to break down in tears. I shook my head and stood to my feet, finding myself exhausted by the events that had just unfolded.
“I’m going for a nap.”
I didn’t wait for any response from him. I just went to my bedroom and left him to do as he pleased. The moment my head rested on the pillow, I drifted off to sleep and found myself in Derek’s arms.
“I love you, Sofia,” he whispered into my ear.
He had his hands on my waist and he was rocking me gently as soft music played in the background. We were in some sort of garden and we were both all dressed up. Derek looked dashing in a tux and I felt pretty in the powder blue pixie dress I had on.
“You believe me, don’t you?” he asked. “You know that I will always love you, right?”
I creased my brows, made anxious by his unusual questions. “Of course I do, Derek. I know you love me.”
“I don’t want that to change.”
I was beginning to get nervous with the way he was acting and the things he was saying. “Why would that ever change?” I pulled away from him and looked up into those electric blue eyes that always made me go weak in the knees.
“Because we don’t have control over everything, Sofia. We never really know what life will throw our way.”
A cold wind swept through the place and panic began to overwhelm his countenance.
“No… No… This can’t be happening.” He shook his head furiously.
“Derek, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t love you, Sofia. That’s what’s wrong. I’m so sorry…” He was saying the words so quickly, it took me a while to comprehend them, but once I did, I wish that I hadn’t.
“Derek, why are you doing this? What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to do this, but I have to. I’m sorry, Sofia,” he gasped, before pulling out a dagger and driving it right through my heart.
I screamed even as I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at my bedroom ceiling. I was breaking into a cold sweat, my breathing heavy, my nerves on overdrive, my heartbeat drumming so furiously against my chest, I was sure it would somehow break out. I was trying to catch my breath when my father suddenly showed up on my door and ran to my bed, sitting on the edge of it, to check on me.
“Sofia, what happened? I heard you scream from the living room.”
I stared at him, unable to speak. I wondered how long I’d been asleep, surprised that he would wait for me at the living room and not just go off and find Ingrid.
“Where’s Ingrid?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be with her?”
“When Camilla says that she needs time alone, it’s better to give her the space she’s asking for,” he quickly explained. “What happened, Sofia?”
I slowly rose on the bed, the sensations from my dream still running through my head. “I had a dream… How long have I been asleep?”
“A little over an hour… What was the dream about?”
I tried to recall every detail of the dream and when I did, I couldn’t help it. Tears began to stream down my cheek and I broke into a sob.
Aiden didn’t seem to know what to do at first, so for the few seconds I was bawling my eyes out, he just stared. After gathering his wits about him, however, he pulled me into his arms, cradling me over his lap. “Hey… come on… everything’s going to be alright…”
“One minute Derek was professing his love for me and in the very next minute, he was stabbing me in the heart with a dagger…” I explained in between sobs.
“It was just a nightmare, Sofia… It doesn’t mean anything…”
What I couldn’t explain in detail to him was that dreams I had before about Derek served as warnings. I couldn’t help but tremble at what this dream could possibly be warning me about. I snuggled into my father’s arms, drawing strength from the comfort he was giving me. “I can’t lose him.”
“You know me, Sofia. You know how much I stand against your relationship with Derek, but much as I hate to admit it, the man loves you. I doubt that he’ll leave you for anything.”
That’s because you haven’t actually seen Emilia and her effect on him. “What if he does? You don’t know Emilia. They have history together. What if she’s right? What if she’s actually the girl prophesied to help him bring the vampires to true sanctuary?”
My father’s words came as healing balm to my afflicted soul. “It won’t matter, because it will still be you holding his heart.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder and let those words sink in. I couldn’t allow myself to be disheartened. For myself and Derek’s sake… “Thank you…” I whispered to my father before giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.
We sat there for a while. I relished his company, enjoying that time we got to spent together. I was certain that it would be one of my most cherished moments with my father.
“I love you, Dad,” I spoke up, knowing that I meant it. “You know that, don’t you?”
He smiled and nodded before kissing me on my temple. “I love you too, Sofia.”
We walked out of the room minutes later in a much lighter mood, chuckling over who had to prepare snacks for the both of us.
“I want us to be a family,” I told him, as we began to prepare our food at the kitchen.
“I want that too. More than anything,” he responded.
I smiled. “I’ll give Ing… Camilla another chance if you want me to.”
“That means the world to me, Sofia. I’ve heard so many stories about you here in The Shade and I know they’re true. You’re someone who’s willing to forgive, forget and trust again.”