CHAPTER 22: A Clash of Wills

I couldn't believe it when Viktor stared straight ahead and avoided my gaze. His strides were quick, firm, and determined as he passed me by without uttering a single word. I watched his naked body getting out of the pond, wondering why his sudden change, but no answers came to me. After so much happened between us, part of this man was still a mystery, and yet again my curiosity tormented me.

I couldn't find my peace until I had some answers, therefore, I followed him out of the pond. Viktor sat down near the shore with his eyes closed, allowing his utter splendour to bask in all directions. Those fine thin lips were calling me in a strange language, to kiss them endlessly… but I could not fall prey to such temptations.

"Viktor, why did you do that?" I asked.

My blood was growing hot as I stared at him, trying to understand. He didn't look me in the eye but stared into his lap instead.

"What's wrong with you? Answer me!"

My hands began to shake as he sat there, silent and still. I felt anger and disappointment rising inside of me as I realised he wouldn't even look at me.

"What are you not telling me?" I asked with a grave voice, and I could see his eyes opening slightly.

But once again Viktor said nothing and simply ignored me.

"Why didn't you tell me that you and Naran used to be 'involved'?"

The stress put on that word turned Viktor's anger back to life. I had asked the question before I realised I was still mad about that.

"That's in the past. I don't want to talk about it," he growled as he sat up.

He still wouldn't even look at me and that angered me deeply. Why were there so many things he didn't want to tell me? I couldn't stand aside, ignoring everything, thus I pushed on.

"So that 'we kind of know each other' really meant that you were lovers?" I continued on the brink of tears. "What did you do when I left the room at the club? Answer me!"

Viktor could barely cope with my interrogation, and I could see it on his face.

"I saved you, and this is how you repay me?"

He wanted gratitude but all I felt was resentment.

"If you had been honest with me when we started living together instead of of ignoring me and fucking the maid behind my back, none of this would have happened..." I muttered.

With that, he rushed at me and grabbed my shoulders with his hands. I tried to ignore his muscled body so close to mine, his intense blue gaze, and the sheer power of his grip. He pressed his lips together, his chest rising and falling with each sharp breath as my words hung in the air.

"Did you truly believe I would rejoice at the thought of condemning you to an eternity of darkness? Did you think I was pleased to sentence you with this despised gift, this awful curse of vampirism?" His blue eyes now looked like two flaming sapphires and he held my shoulders so tight, I could feel my bones thrumming. "I did it to protect you, but I didn't do it gladly. How can you accuse me, when you have been so foolish?! If only you had obeyed me and let me take control of the situation, then you wouldn't have ended up in that wretched dungeon! But you always do as you please, spying me around the manor, getting in my bed... You told Naran about our night together. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?"

A sense of pride captured my soul, crowing his question perfectly. I wanted Naran to know about the passionate night Viktor and I had spent together, to see the fire burning in her eyes, to let her know that Viktor was now mine. And I didn't regret it, despite the dire consequences my confession had.

"I told the truth!" I uttered with a stern voice.

Viktor was unimpressed.

"The truth will get you killed one day!"

His answer made me scoff.

"At least I'm not scared of telling the truth! I'll make my own decisions. You're not my owner. To be honest... you're not even really my husband. Why did you marry me?" Tears filled my eyes, my voice trembling as I spoke. "You know, I... I believed you when you told the Council you only married me to protect yourself, to get a cover so the people in the village wouldn't suspect you're a vampire. Is this what this is, only a transaction?" My heart was about to shatter.

He stayed silent, releasing his embrace and looking away. It was as if he wanted me to take the next step and continue.

"I can't fuck you when I want, I can't say a word to you without stirring your anger. Whenever I ask you a question about your past, you refuse to answer. Why are we together anyway?"

The tension between us was palpable, electric. Viktor's face dripped with sweat as he gritted his teeth, and I could feel my own heart pounding in my chest. "Just leave me alone," he said through clenched jaws and turned his back to me.

I knew that this fight was over, but the silence that followed felt like a wound. I had no desire to keep arguing with him so I left him alone. The lack of answers plagued my heart but just like that, we fell asleep away from one another. A dreaded feeling roamed through my whole body even while asleep. The grim uncertainty began to take its toll and hours later, as our journey was resumed, Viktor refused to even acknowledge me.

I wanted to say something, to make up for the fight we had yesterday, but I was scared it would only make things worse. Every time I tried to talk to him, he looked away and kept silent. It seemed like the anger in his soul had taken its toll on him and he refused to engage with me any longer. He just walked ahead of me as if nothing ever happened between us.

Once again my husband had turned into a stranger, with Raoul tapped in between. Raoul seemed to be in an awkward predicament and I doubted he knew how to react. I had some questions for him, but didn't want Viktor to overhear us, so I kept my mouth shut.

We had been walking for a day and a half when we made another stop. The caves were getting more spacious and the air was getting thinner, perhaps because we were approaching the surface. The walls in the distance had an eerie glow coming from a bioluminescent fungus growing in them that created an atmosphere of dread and uncertainty.

I looked around nervously, the eeriness of the underground cave making me uneasy. Viktor and I stopped to rest on opposite sides of the cave, glaring at each other. Seeing Viktor in such a foul mood, Raoul finally decided to sit next to me.

"I don't understand why he's so angry with me," I said to Raoul. I looked at Viktor to make sure that he was not paying any mind to our conversation.

"He's been through a lot, Lucy. He's just a bit guarded when it comes to opening up to people," Raoul said, his voice a thin whisper.

I shivered, feeling the dampness of the cave seep into my bones. "But why can't he just talk to me?" I asked, trying to make sense of Viktor's behaviour.

"It's not that simple. Viktor has been hurt before, and it takes time for him to trust people," Raoul explained.

The sound of dripping water echoed through the cave. I had no idea what Raoul was talking about, how had Viktor been hurt before, who made him that way? Was this the reason why he was so hostile towards me?

"What happened to him?" I asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper. Raoul looked at me sadly, and I could see the hesitation in his eyes. He glanced briefly at Viktor and took a deep breath before answering.

"Viktor has a complicated past, but he's a good man," he said slowly. "You must be patient with him if you want to help him heal. He deserves that much."

Raoul's words were gentle yet firm. The darkness of the cave made it hard to read his expression, but his words gave me some comfort. "I just wish he would talk to me," I said, my voice trembling with emotion.

"He will, Lucy. You just need to... keep loving him," Raoul reassured me.

Then, as if waking from a trance, he got up from his spot by my side and walked over to where Viktor was sitting alone. With every step he took away from me I felt my heart sink further into despair. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get any closer to understanding my husband. Did I really love Viktor Volkov, like Raoul said? Was that enough to save him from himself?