Ephemeral

Mother Dearest

I stood up from my seat, locking eyes with Xavier that now had three sets of eyes looking at him. I couldn't shake what Don had announced to everyone before completely leaving the room. The amount of fury that was coursing through my veins was hard to shake, and it felt as if my blood was boiling.

"You did..." I placed my hands on the table calmly, despite what I truly was feeling. "What...?"

"You're the reason why our lives got fucked-?" Bella hissed out, standing up as well. Though, unlike me, she had chosen to grab a butter knife that was resting on the table top. I could see from the corner of my eyes that she was gripping it sternly.

"Girls –

I paid no attention to the woman that had the audacity to think that she deserved any opinion regarding Bella and I's life. I hadn't looked away from Xavier, who placed his hands up in the air slowly. He wasn't incapable of reading the room, of knowing when people were severely pissed off at him, and instead was taking his damn sweet time with explaining.

"How?" I asked, surprised at how leveled my voice came out.

"Vienna –

"How-??" I continued my question, not caring that Aidan was trying to calm me down. Or, he was demanding and ordering me to desist my anger fueled rage towards his older brother. I didn't know which one it was, but...

I. Didn't. Care.

I only cared about getting my damn answers-!

"Vienna," Xavier spoke the fake name. I glared at him with all the hostility that I could muster. He softened his eyes and cleared his throat, looking off to the side. "A-Arianna," he said my true name with a small amount of fear in his tone.

I was beginning to see red.

"Answer the fucking questions, dick-head!" Bella ordered, plunging her butter knife, an item that shouldn't have been sharp enough to do any damage, directly into the table top. It had splintered directly across the table, and the blunt knife was sticking straight out.

"I knew about..." Xavier glanced at me. "About the two of you when I turned twenty one. I knew where you were and what you were meant to be." He glanced at the table, eyes locking onto the butter knife. "I kept tabs on my half-sisters as I had the rest of my family. Even now, I know where Zander is..." He looked at Aidan. "And no, I will not be telling you."

Aidan narrowed his eyes at that but didn't comment.

"All I told Aidan was that he would find something..." Xavier swallowed, pausing for a few seconds. "Interesting at a school in a small town residing in Florida..." Xavier explained, looking back up at the Bella and me. "That is all. I did not tell him of your names and I did not tell him of your past; I simply gave him the initiative."

I stared at Xavier, taking in this information bit by bit.

"I hate you," I spoke coldly, withdrawing my hands from the table. I knew the truth now, I knew everything that I needed to. I had no more questions and there wasn't anything more to ask if I did. It seemed like life had just wanted to fuck me over from the very beginning. "I want to go to bed," I glanced at Bella who nodded in return.

Aidan stood up.

"We are fiancés, Vienna," Aidan addressed me by my new name that I was meant to abide by. I stopped where I was, not turning to look at him. "We are to be married a week from now. It would only be fitting that we share the same bed --

"Burn in Hell," I scathingly said, taking Bella by the hand and walking out of the room.

She led me to the room that she had been staying...the journey there had been quiet.