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“A gift from Franklin.” To her credit, she didn’t immediately recoil at having her magical poofing amulet fondled. “For all his faults, he gave me some lovely gifts over the years. But gifts do not make up for a broken marriage, no matter how expensive they are.”
“This is very true.”
Alicia’s expression turned serious. “Let me ask you something, Thierry. Your answer is very important to me, as someone who has known me a long time.”
“Of course.”
“Did Franklin ever truly love me?” she asked.
“He married you.”
“True. It’s just…” She shook her head. “Earlier, at the diner, I saw how you looked at Sarah. There was a softness in your gaze, one I’m not sure I’ve ever seen in any man’s eyes when they look at me.”
“A softness,” he repeated. “Weakness, you mean.”
“No, not weakness.” She pondered this for a moment. “Love. Real love, and not just because you find her attractive. You…genuinely like her. You enjoy her company. You consider her, despite her youth and inexperience, to be your equal.”
Thierry didn’t speak for a moment, and I realized I was hanging on to every word.
Hanging upside down, that was.
“Yes, it’s true,” he replied simply.
“She’s a very lucky girl. I hope she knows that.”
“That, Alicia, is entirely debatable. I certainly come with my share of issues for one so young as Sarah to deal with on a daily basis.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Thierry. You are quite perfect. I only wish Franklin looked at me as you look at Sarah. It would have changed so many things.”
“Perhaps. But there’s a difference, Alicia.”
“What?”
“Even if I’d never entered Sarah’s life. Even if she hadn’t become a vampire, she would still have the same moral compass. She would still be a woman worthy of the truest and purest love because she would never, not a million years, harm someone without cause.”
Alicia lifted her chin. “Is that what Franklin tells you I do?”
“Consider it a personal observation. The years have not been kind to you, Alicia. You are every bit as beautiful as you’ve ever been, but your sour dissatisfaction with yourself and the life you’ve lived is palpable. And the choices you’ve made to change this outer life are every bit as visible as a physical scar.”
She frowned. “Thierry…”
“You expect your husband to make you happy, to make you feel loved, when it is entirely up to you to feel these things. Such a sense of self-worth must come from the inside, Alicia. Any outer gifts—baubles, jewels, homes, cars, compliments from handsome men—cannot adequately fill up someone who is as utterly empty on the inside as you are.”
I tensed with every word that came out of his mouth. While I still glowed at what Thierry had said about me, I had no idea he’d say all of this to Alicia, especially knowing what she planned. I mean, he was speaking the truth, but this truth had very sharp edges.
Alicia’s expression had turned icy. “I see.”
Thierry shook his head. “That’s the problem, Alicia. You don’t see. If you did, you never would have invited me here this evening.”
She glared at him for several tense and silent moments. “Oh, Thierry, you’re lucky you’re so attractive, or I might change my mind about you.”
“About what?” Thierry said. “About your warlock lover's plan to possess my body?”
Her eyes widened.
“He’s lying to you, Alicia. He’s using you, and despite your age and experience, you’re utterly ignorant to this. You asked me if Franklin truly loved you. The answer is, he did. In the beginning, he saw you as a beautiful woman whom he enjoyed spending time with. A woman he genuinely wanted to marry and share the rest of eternity with. But as the years passed, he realized that the woman he met was nothing but a façade, a fabrication. Something you created because you thought that’s what he wanted. But he didn’t want a lie. He wanted the real you. But perhaps you don’t even know who the real you is.”
Thierry had rendered her speechless, her face pale in the shadows of dusk.
