Tangle (BWWM)

Chapter 19- Loyalty

Gabrielle stared at Vincent with widened, disbelieving eyes. For the first time since Vincent appeared in her doorway, there was tense silence. She felt her stomach drop as her mind raced a mile a minute, trying to process the piece of information that Vincent just screamed to the heavens. She was going to be sick...

Her feelings about the revelation were conflicted. The part of her that loved and cared for Vincent felt for him, yearned to comfort him, to take him into her arms and cradle him against her. The selfish part of her of her rejoiced, making her feel silly that she'd been envious of a dead woman. In entirety, however, she certainly felt like shit now. She was being foolish...

Slowly, she blinked, trying her damnedest to close her gaping mouth and gather her wits about her. "I-I'm sorry. What?" she asked, knowing full well she'd heard every word he'd said.

"She's dead, Gabrielle," he repeated, his voice now much lower in volume. "Camille Larsen is dead." At that point, when he said it, it sounded like a mantra that he'd rehearsed to remind himself about the reality of the situation. He'd probably had to do so for decades.

Gabrielle stood there for a few seconds, just breathing, and trying to muster up the courage to ask him her next question. "How... Did you-?" The deadly glare he shot in her direction quickly silenced her.

"You have the absolute nerve to ask me that fucking question," Vincent growled, his anger showing no signs of waning. His chest heaved unevenly as he gritted his teeth in order to prevent him from going ballistic on Gabrielle. "I loved Camille with all my heart, and we were engaged to be married. I would have NEVER laid a single hand on her."

Gabrielle winced at his words. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy hearing Vincent profess his love for someone else while she had yet to hear him say those words to her. Her eyes began to prick with the forming of tears, but she blinked them back, not wanted to show her vulnerability.

"Stop doing that," he commanded.

"Stop doing what?"

"Stop doubting me when I tell you that I want you."

Gabrielle frowned. Had he been reading her mind all this time? "How could I not doubt you, Vincent? How am I supposed to just accept and forget your questionable reputation and your past? And on top of that, you're a vampire, a master of deception! You're trying to tell me that you just suddenly changed because you met me? How the hell am I supposed to know that I can really trust you?"

Vincent growled and shook his head in disbelief, his frustration reaching an all-time high. "Gabrielle, for fuck's sake! I've been entirely devoted to you this whole time, and you still can't see it? I am with you, and only with you. I am entirely devoted to you alone, because there is literally no one else I can be with at this point. You are my destiny, and I am yours. I've waited literal centuries to find you, and now that I have, I will NOT ruin it and I will not allow you to ruin it either."

Her head jerked back in surprise before she returned an icy glare. "Me? Me, ruin it? You're the one having dreams about your fucking dead ex-fiancée. How the fuck am I supposed to feel hearing you calling some other woman's name? How am I supposed to feel being the subject of countless rumors, or hearing whispers about you planning to use me like you've used all those other women? Did you think it was easy for me to make the decision to give you a chance with how you fucking forced yourself on me, and the fear that I'd end up being just another notch on your fucking belt?!"

"Have I given you reason to second guess my intentions?" Vincent questioned forcefully. "Have I ever been sneaky or reserved when it comes to being with you or around you? In the few months we've known each other, I've been by your side almost the ENTIRE time. When I'm not with you, I'm with Jacques or I'm fucking alone with nothing but my thoughts. Oh, can you guess who occupied those thoughts? Hm? Any guesses?"