Chapter 250 - A Liar

"I-I'm sorry," Delaney managed to get out of her mouth before her husband grabbed her around the waist and yanked her down from the half-unicorn.

He looked her up and down with worried eyes.  "Are you alright?  You're not hurt?"

"N-No.  I'm fine.  I'm sorry I worried you."

Finally satisfied that she was fine, he let his anger take over him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Vincent shouted, gripping her upper arms so tight now she wouldn't have been surprised if bruises were left behind.

Looking at the rage in his eyes Delaney felt suddenly afraid.  She didn't know if she had ever seen him this angry before.  His scars were bloody red and his eyes were nearly black.  He loomed over her with the shadows playing over his features making him appear monstrous.

"I-I just wanted to go see Nell and the fairies.  I-I thought maybe she would be able to h-help me."

"Oh I'm well aware," he hissed, "The men from the stables told me how you told them we aren't able to have children and that you believed there was something in the woods that could help.  It was simple to put it together from there.  It was duplicitous of you to play on their sympathy like that."

Delaney looked at him in confusion feeling the heat of his hands through the layers of fabric covering her arms.

"What?  I-I didn't.  I told them the truth.  I just didn't say it was fairies I was coming to see."

He laughed coldly and shook his head in disbelief, "That isn't the problem with what you said..."

"What is it then?" she asked desperately, wanting to understand why anger was at this level, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you by telling them I couldn't have a baby but I really thought Nell would be able to help me."

"I don't care about the men!  My God Delaney," he said loudly, letting go of her suddenly with a slight shove and turning away, "It isn't you!  How many times do we have to talk about this?  It isn't you!  You're not the reason we can't have a child!"

Her voice was trembling, "You... You don't know that..."

"I do!" he shouted spinning back to face her with anger, "You know it too!  Why are you doing this?  Do you enjoy hurting me?  Do you enjoy repeatedly reminding me that I can't give you the thing you're desperate to have?"

She slowly shook her head in confusion, "No... No of course not.  I'm not desperate for a child but we... we have to have a baby because of that foolish deal.  You insist we honor it.  I don't want to lose you..."

"Delaney you have to give up on this.  I would have thought you would've realized by now that this wasn't going to happen.  It's never going to happen.  It wasn't ever going to happen.  There will never be a baby!"

His words hit her like a slap across the face.

"W-What are you talking about?"

He stared at her with dark eyes flashing and for a moment he was quiet.

"Delaney my body is literally flooded with dragon poison," Vincent hissed, "It is all I can do to keep myself alive.  I can't... I can't give you a baby.  My body can barely manage to make it through the day let alone somehow come up with what's needed to create a new life."

Feeling her breaths start to come quicker she shook her head and tried to step farther back away from him, not wanting to hear his words.

"But you said... You made the deal with me... You said we would try for a year.  We've been trying to have a baby and make sure we could stay together.  Why would you lie to me and pretend it was possible if you knew?  Why... Why would you let me fall in love with you?"

Her words seemed to deflate him and he suddenly looked smaller and truly broken.

"I didn't know at first... Or maybe I did.  Maybe I did but I didn't want to believe it.  I fell so in love with you I wanted to believe I could still give you a family.  I wanted us to have everything together."

Tears began to slip over her cheeks as her heart broke, at last, shattering inside her chest at his words.  Vincent looked away and she saw tears glistening in his eyes now too although he would never let them fall.

"So... So there was never any chance we were going to be together forever.  You knew.  You knew this was going to come to an end and you let me torture myself trying to have a baby anyway so we could stay together. You let me make a fool of myself over something you knew was never going to happen.  How could you do this to me, Vincent?  You were supposed to be my husband and take care of me.  You're supposed to love me."

He had begun to shake his head before she had even finished speaking and now he was quick to answer.

"I do love you, Delaney.  I didn't know.  Not at first.  I promise my love.  It was only after Ian was hurt and I couldn't help him that I realized it was really true and I wouldn't be able to have children.  You heard the witch.  She said all my energy and strength had to go into simply fighting off the poison to keep me alive.  I realized shortly after that while you were laying in bed recovering that I wouldn't have the strength to be able to have a baby with you.  My body is just... it's just so broken and ruined.  I... I tried my love... I promise I tried and I wanted it.  I wanted so much to give you a family.  To have a family with you."

Delaney stared at him, her mind turning over what he had said.  She felt anger joining the pain in her broken heart.  Her tears fell and she didn't know if it was her frustration or sadness that caused them.

"You've known for months," she whispered coldly, "For months Vincent!  Why didn't you tell me when you first realized this?"

"You were still recovering and giving Ian your strength..."

"Fine!" she snapped, cutting him off, "Then if you didn't want to tell me while I was recovering in the castle why have you not told me on any one of the other dozens of days since!"

Her husband dropped his eyes and a hand moved to rub the back of his neck.

"I didn't... I didn't want this to end yet," he spoke softly, "I knew then that there was no way I would get to stay with you for the rest of my life Delaney so I wanted... I wanted to make the most of the rest of our time together.  I... I didn't want to waste any of it being upset."

"No, instead you let me keep hoping and trying and thinking there was a chance we could be together for the rest of our lives."

"My love I... I'm so sorry..."

"I want to go home," she said coldly, turning away from him as tears continued to slide over her cheeks.

"Wait," Vincent tried again, "You don't understand Delaney there... there's more I... I'm..."

"What?" she spun to face him, "You're what Vincent?  Stubborn?  Selfish?"

"No... No I'm... I'm..."

"You're a liar," she glared at him, "That's what you are.  You've been lying to me for months.  You knew we wouldn't have a baby but you lied and let me keep dreaming."

He looked at her with pain and disbelief across his face.  He opened and closed his mouth but nothing came out.

"Is that what you were going to say?  Were you going to admit you're a liar?"

Vincent stared at his wife, at the woman he loved.  He knew she was hurt and lashing out.  He deserved it.  He was the one that had hurt her.  She deserved to be angry.

If anything, it was better that she was angry.  It would be better if she hated him.  If she hated him she would leave.  She would find someone else to love and have the beautiful life with that she deserved.  If she hated him she would leave and never come back.  She would never learn the truth.

For a moment he had considered telling her the truth.  All of it.  He almost had.  If she hadn't interrupted he would have poured out his secret and told her everything.

He would have told her that he was sick.  That the dragon poison was getting worse every day and he had been hiding it.  He would have told her that the pain was getting nearly unbearable and the heat of his skin was becoming maddening.

He would have told her...

He would have told her that he was dying...