Pink Is The Color Of Infatuation

Chapter 18

The little vixen had been toying with him all along. He never should have allowed his feelings for her to develop in the first place. He should have guarded himself better. He paced the clean hardwood floor of his grandparent's estate, raking angry hands through his hair. Apart of him refused to believe that any other man had ever touched her and yet he was angry enough to believe anything at this moment. He wanted to wring the neck of the man who had been her. He wanted to tie her to his bed and never let her go.

He wasn't ordinarily a possessive person, he had grown up with a certain amount of riches and thus had never truly struggled, so he had never had a reason to be possessive. If one thing went then another one would come. But with her he wanted everyone to know that she was his.

He honestly couldn't even think straight. He was livid but he also felt...hurt? He stopped his pacing and sighed into his hands. Wanting vengeance and falling in love with her were two different things. Hell he didn't even want vengeance anymore. He didn't care about how he had gotten her. He just wanted to keep her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped him out of his moment of misery and he looked up, realizing that his cousin and uncle were now watching him with curiosity.

Leo sank down onto the sofa and Emile merely leaned against the wall.

They both raised brows at him, waiting on him to tell them what obviously ailed him. He groaned into his hands. "Leave me be." He mumbled, he didn't need this. Not now.

Leo huffed, "What have you done this time? You look remorseful."

Alexander grit his teeth before turning to face the both of them. "I've been fooled. That's my problem. I thought that she was so innocent."

"What are you talking about?"

Alexander leaned against the mantle of the fire place. "She's with child."

Leo and Emile both smiled, congratulating him. "That's wonderful news!"

"The child's not mine." He barked before pacing once more, "She told me that the child was not mine."

Leo tsked, "I don't believe that for a moment. How could it not be yours? You've had the girl confined to your bedroom since the day you met her. This is nonsense. You're both playing a dangerous game with all this pettiness."

Emile merely nodded in agreement.

Alexander narrowed his eyes on his cousin. "I don't know what to believe! I've never seen her act this way before...over the past week she's been nothing but vindictive, if she had the courage to seduce me than I'm sure she's seduced hundreds of other men before me!"

Leo bristled completely, "If you believe that then you're a fool. You've lived with her for months, long enough to know what kind of person she is...stop all this craziness."

"I don't need a lecture form you, Leo!" Alexander seethed.

Emile's deep voice broke through the tense atmosphere, "Enough. Leo, leave. I want to talk to Alexander privately."

Leo frowned but nodded nonetheless. He stood and made his way out of the room, leaving Emile and Alexander alone.

Alexander scowled at his uncle but said nothing.

"Sit down, Alex. I'll tell you a story." Emile mumbled, his voice deep and coated with a smooth French accent.

"I'd rather n-," Emile cut him off, "Sit. Down."

He took a deep breath but yielded to his uncle's request, sinking onto the nearest sofa.

"You have a short temper, yes? Your appeal to reason and logic and love are very jumbled." Emile mumbled as he continued to lean against the wall.

"I think I'm perfectly logical." Alexander returned.

Emile chuckled, "Doesn't every man?"

Alexander stayed silent.

"It takes a lot to admit when you are wrong. It takes a lot to admit that something you've done has caused a catalyst for other stupid, unfortunate things. I know first-hand. I've been an idiot most of my life. I'm a man, it is what we do. But your aunt," Emile paused for a moment, as if picturing Jewel in his mind before smiling softly, "I do not deserve her. I never have and yet she has been everything to me. I was not a good man, I sought revenge and bloodshed and refused to acknowledge that I had, in turn, become a horrible product of anger. But I wanted her regardless, more than I should have. I have made many mistakes, more than I or you or anyone on this earth can count but one thing I know...is that I love her with everything in me. Nothing will ever make up for the animal that I once was but I will let her know for the rest of our lives that I love her. And that I was wrong for ever hurting her."

Alexander was speechless, his mind working over his uncle's words.

Emile stood up straight, pushing himself off the wall. "Your wife...you do love her, correct?"

Alexander stared at his uncle for a moment, this was the first time he had ever heard him speak so much. He sighed, "Yes...I love the woman."

"That is all you need. That and a little acknowledgement. You have done things that were not good, admit it to yourself and to her. Talk to her, learn each other and most of all recognize forgiveness. Love does not bloom without it."

With that Emile grinned at him, looking suddenly like the young, handsome pirate that he had once been before walking out of the room, leaving Alexander to stare after him. He leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment, sighing deeply.

This was utterly ridiculous and yet it was all so easily fixed that he felt like a fool for not thinking of it himself.

He stood then, heading for the door with purposeful steps.

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Xael sat snug in the carriage as it moved slowly toward her childhood home. She had waited for him to return home for hours and still he had not returned. Anxiety engulfed and she knew she could take no more of it. She placed a hand over her stomach, feeling the roundness of it.

The carriage came to a halt and then the door flew open, the footman holding it for her. She climbed out and made her way toward the front door. She knocked gently and was escorted inside. She went in immediate search of her mother. Moving from parlor to parlor until she finally settled on her in the library.

Her mother was shocked to see her but happy nonetheless. "Xael, my darling, what a surprise."

She ran into her mother's arms before she could say another word, burying her face in her neck.