Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
She looked at him like she didn’t believe him.
“No, honest, I was very sick from an allergic reaction to something I ate,” I said.
“And the flowers have bloomed again,” Zane said, taking my hand. “They’ve been blooming for Tanya.”
Treya looked startled. The room was quiet for a beat, an awkward beat. “Oh,” she smoothed out her skirt. “It’s just…with how it’s been said that people from Earth cannot be trusted, when I saw that color on you, I simply sought to protect Zane. You understand, I’m sure. Nothing personal.”
I shrugged, though was taken aback. “No offence taken. I’m not a bad person. When my system goes back to normal, I’m sure it’ll fade to whatever color it’s supposed to be.”
“Which is…” she inquired.
“Red,” Zane said. “It was red prior to the black.”
“Was it malfunctioning prior to the consumption of the allergen?” Spar asked.
“Not likely.”
“Was it red due to malfunction or red due to emotion?” Spar asked.
“Unknowable,” Zane replied, “but I do not believe it malfunctioned then. Though, it doesn’t matter. I know what I know. She loves me.” He looked at me with pride and humor in his voice.
I beamed under that look. That look of love and absolute faith that I felt that way about him.
“Daxx’s new wife had a red stone. I watched it turn red during a heated argument with them. I saw, with these two eyes, the moment my son’s Jetta hit the planet from her fall. It was astonishing. A woman in love is a beautiful thing to behold.”
Treya had a facial expression that looked beyond foul.
***
Dinner was a long affair, where Zane acted like Spar was a stranger he’d never met and Treya took every opportunity to get digs in to make me feel inferior.
Condescending corrections on which fork to use to eat the complicated seafood meal I was served, that I wasn’t crazy about, because you had to crack things out of their shells and pick them out, and they were not attractive.
She remarked I didn’t have to pretend to have no appetite as it was clear by my curves that I like to eat.
I’m not a violent person, but I wanted to stab her with that fork at that point.
She was trying to disparage me with comments about Earth. She inserted two anecdotes into the conversation that led to Earth people being deceptive.
After the meal, I excused myself to use the bathroom.
When I came back out, she was cornering Zane while Spar spoke on the phone.
“We should probably head home,” Zane said, when seeing me, searching my face as if assessing my wellbeing.
“Oh, wait. I found something I just must show you all. Stay a few more minutes.”
She gestured down the hall into another smaller lounge room and pointed a small silver remote toward the wall where there was a screen that was showing landscape portraits to the backdrop of that new age nature music that Phallyx seemed to like.
“Sit, please!” We sat down and Spar ended his call and came over.
I sat on a pale grey leather couch that looked and felt very expensive. There was a pink pillow on each corner. A very familiar fuchsia pink. I couldn’t bear to touch it.
“Zane? Is that…” I pointed.
He gave me a grim expression.
I bit my lip. Fuschilla fur. My chin wobbled.
“What are we doing?” Spar asked. “Why’ve you pulled out the old controller?”
“Look what I found. Footage of your daughter and Zane when they married.”
And my heart dropped. I saw a lovely face grace the screen. And then a second. Two girls that both had the vibrant green eyes that I’d seen on Spar and Ollie. One was helping another with her clothes. One wore a long, soft pink gauzy dress and the other fastened flowers into her long, jet black pin straight hair that fell in a glossy sheet. Arla was slender and tanned and perfect. And she looked happy as her sister fussed with her hair.
Zane uttered “I’m sorry,” in my ear, but with the look on Spar’s face as he stared at his daughters, I knew there was no way Zane could demand it be turned off.
The scene changed to an outdoor location, on the side of a mountain, where Zane and that beautiful woman stood together under the pink clouds. He looked younger, less rugged, and he looked happy as he smiled at his beautiful bride, holding her hands with a gold twine-like material tying their hands together.
I saw a man slap Zane on the arm in a show of camaraderie. A very handsome man with those signature green eyes. It had to be Daxx.
Everyone looked happy. Until I caught a moment where a group were laughing and caught up in that laughter when Zane turned away from them and took what appeared to be a fortifying breath. My heart flip-flopped.