Chapter 31 A furious Brion
"Nova -"
At the sound of the familiar voice, I turned my back, focusing my gaze on the restroom door. "Your lying bitch is calling you," I spat out before I walked the few steps to the door and entered, slamming it shut behind me before Lilith could come near.
I wasn't running from her, and neither was I scared to meet her. I just didn't think today was the day for us to meet. When we finally clash, I want it to be on a day I deemed, not because I was speaking with Dashiell.
I left the restroom a few minutes later, and hurried towards the checkpoint, knowing Brion would be waiting, and he was. He had his face pulled up in a dark frown as he stared at the exit. I didn't need to ask, to know why he looked like he was just minutes from punching a hole into someone's face. He must have seen Dashiell leaving with Lilith.
"Have you been waiting for long?" I asked, grinning as I got to their side.
"Mum!" River and Willow called, smiling when they saw me. To keep them from running around like they did each time we went shopping, Brion had to place them in the shopping cart.
"Did you miss me?" I leaned down and placed a kiss on their foreheads before my gaze returned to Brion. The anger on his face had vanished, leaving behind a lazy smile in its wake. Had I not seen his expression earlier, I wouldn't have believed he was angry.
"What took you so long? I even thought you were giving birth in there," he joked, chuckling when I playfully punched his right arm. "Come on. No one stays in the restroom for 20 minutes, just to take
a piss."
"Wait, you were actually counting?" I gaped at him, shocked.
"Do you think I'm as jobless as you are?" Grumbling, he drove the cart towards the exit, nodding at the security man by the door.
"Uncle Brion, are we going to get the ice cream before returning home?" Willow demanded, looking up at him with a pout, to remind him of the conversation we had earlier. "Before returning home, of course." Winking at them, he turned to me with a grin. "See? You have to fulfil your promise to them, Nova. There's no going back for you."
"As if I don't know." Groaning, I hastened towards Brion's car to wait for them. Leaning on the car, watching them approach, my thoughts returned to the clash I had with Dashiell earlier. My face clouded in a frown at the recollection, and I had this brewing anger. Knowing Lilith and Dashiell were still happy together after what they attempted to do to me years ago didn't sit easily with me.
If only I could get them to feel my grief. To go through what I went through, it would be better. I wish to make them feel the suffering, the heartbreak, and the feeling of betrayal. However, I couldn't
think of the right steps to take towards that.
How do I make them experience my pain?
By hiring thugs? Nah, that doesn't seem like the best thing to do. Getting them beaten and sent to the hospital would only cause them physical anguish. I want them to feel emotional pain, not just physical ones.
"What are you thinking of?"
Startled, I looked up, stunned to see Brion standing in front of me with a smug expression on his face, and his arms folded. He lifted an eyebrow at my reaction. "Don't tell me you were thinking of me?" "As if." Scoffing, I pushed away from the car, and walked over to the cart, to let my kids down, while a chuckling Brion got the things we bought out of it.
"Why do I sense that you think a lot these days?" He asked, his tone conversational as he placed the things we bought in the boot. Somehow, his question didn't sound conversational to me. It seemed as if he were questioning me to know why I had changed.
"I'm still stuck on the new jewellery I'm designing." I opened the door to let my kids in, so I could buckle them down. "It's still not giving me what I want."
"Because your mind is occupied with something else," he accused.
"Something else?" I closed the door and whirled around to face him. "What do you mean by that?" I was puzzled, wondering why his tone sounded accusatory, like a husband who caught his wife in a
scandalous situation.
"Dashiell." His face was straight as he said the name, his neck stiff, and a little twitch on his lips.
"Dashiell?" I frowned at that, folding my arms. "What's he got to do with this? Why mention him?"
Brion hardly mentioned Dashiell. The only time he did that was when I was complaining about how annoying Dashiell was becoming. He never calls his name aside from that.
"Tell me, Nova, what were you doing with him on the night you went for the meet and greet?" His jaw ticked, and a vein popped on his forehead.
I froze at the question, gulping as my gaze flew up to him, locking my eyes with his furious ones. Ever since the meet and greet, I had tried to act as normal as I could with him. I never told him of what happened for fear of being judged. I was afraid he would think I was a whore for sleeping with my ex.
I didn't want his impression of me to be that bad. To Brion, I wanted to remain the Nova he saved and not the slut who couldn't keep her legs closed.
"Brion, I -"
"You know what? Forget I asked you about it." He walked over to the driver's side. "I doubt I mean that much to you, for you to tell me what the fuck is going on in your life." Gritting those words out,
he got into the car and slammed the door shut, leaving me out, with my emotions swirling around like a disturbed pool. Tears welled in my eyes at his remarks, and my heart felt like it was being
squeezed.
For the first time since I met him, Brion seemed pissed at me.