***Content Warning:
+ References to unjust treatment and possible consent violations (Velintra bond, implied manipulation from Minette/Koba)
+ Suicide attempt (past, discussed)
+ Non-consensual bonding
+ Emotional trauma and rejection
+ Manipulation and betrayal themes
+ Non-consensual physical contact
+ Post-confrontation distress (flare-up, essence destabilization)
+ Light physical violence (reflexive punch)
Davina
I observed the pair of lovers in a way I never watched them before. I didn't feel I needed to previously. I'd watched Koba grow, never expecting he would one day break my precious daughter. I would never have suspected him of poisoning my family through a Velintra bond. The facts and my instincts do not add up.
The facts paint Koba as a vile man willing to harm someone he loves for unknown gains. My gut tells me not to believe the obvious. I let one waiter take my plate while another placed a bowl of lemon mango sorbet on the table. My eyes never stray from the couple two tables away. I watch the emotions and actions play out.
I already set up a recording array to record everything that happens at that table. I didn't invite Koba to our lunch date, but I did make sure that the Dillard spy in our complex I knew reported to Koba would overhear my intentions to eat out with Nyx for lunch today. It might seem cruel of me, but Nyx needs to confront how she actually feels about Koba now that she isn't suffering from any outside influences. She has loved Koba with the same passion I feel about my fated mates. So I do not think their bond is fake. No one has been able to recreate long-term the signs of a highly compatible mate.
Even Nyota has confirmed that their bond has the high possibility to be fated. So where did everything go sideways for them? He has always been a perfect future son-in-law, a bit absent at times, but he is also training to be the patriarch of his enclave, so it was understandable. According to the latest reports, it was a body double or a cover-up more often than we realized, and Nyx hid it from us. He would be on missions for his enclave or out with his sister and friends when I thought he was with her.
She suffered and hid so much right under our noses. I knew my aura was emitting an ice and stone presence based on the physical manifestations appearing around the table. "You better prove my gut right, or you will have wished you never set your sights on my daughter." I muttered to myself as I ate my dessert. I'll give them 30 minutes before interrupting to take Nyx shopping. Retail therapy will be good for her after this encounter.
Nyxara
"No, I haven't seen Minette in weeks. I was sick for a while last month and barred everyone except Papa Sullivan and the doctor from visiting me. When I got better, I heard that you had gotten deathly sick too." He kept looking at me as if expecting some kind of reaction that he wasn't getting from me.
Sorry, hun—your Grey is gone. This one doesn't trust you. Whether wrong or right, I'm picking what is best for me. You, Koba Dillard, are not what is best for me right now. And maybe you never will be in this life. "I tried to visit you once you were home, but I was denied entry even onto the grounds. So tell me, Grey, what is going on? Why are you talking about breaking ties? Are you dissolving our engagement? Is this why I wasn't allowed to see you before now? What happened to you, Grey? You are different. The way you are dressed. The way you move. I feel like I don't know you in this moment."
Once he got started, it turns out he had a lot of questions. When he finally stopped rapid-fire talking, his light blush I admit was adorable, but…I refuse to change my mind. I nudged his water glass closer to him. He picked it up and gulped the whole glass down. Our waiter refilled his water glass and switched out my plate with a medium bowl of strawberry lemon sorbet. I gave her a grin, which made her blush and gape before she blushed and scurried off.
I took a bite, then looked up to find Koba looking at me with an indescribable look. "I haven't seen you smile so carefree like that in a while. You even charmed that girl. Should I be jealous? Are you interested in females now too?" I smiled, raising my brow. I didn't want to relax and enjoy my time with him, but I felt at ease with this man in a way that I didn't with the Koba of Earth. He was always like a shooting star to me. Always just out of reach.
This Koba is dangerous to me in a way I couldn't have predicted. Looking at the young man sitting across from me, I can't see him being involved in all the things we suspect the Dillards of doing to me and our enclave. Either he's unknowingly involved… or the best actor I've ever met. I somehow doubted he was faking, and that was a puzzle piece that didn't fit the current picture.
"You seem to have all the questions today. Like I've already said, I don't think you know me as well as you have been led to believe. I suspect Minette has caused a lot of miscommunication between us, on top of other elements my enclave is currently investigating after my incident. What I feel you should know are these points: you and your enclave have acted unjustly towards me and my enclave. There will be a price to pay. Your mother will be notified when she returns. Do what you will with that information." Despite my hands wanting to shake, I faked my calm and kept eating my sorbet as I spoke.
As I spoke my next words I wanted to see the reaction on his face, so I watched every micro-expression. "I was sick, but it was because of you." He tried to interrupt me, but the look on my face immediately quieted his protest. "Minette again probably played a role, but I was driven to the point of attempting to end my life because of the Velintra bond you imposed on me." His face was still neutral, but his eyes showed his horror. This was not the response I expected—or wanted. I want to understand, not be more confused. How could you look at me with such horror as if it wasn't you who bit me without allowing me to reciprocate? Everyone knows that is how a Velintra is formed!
"Obviously, I was saved, but I was institutionalized to help me restore myself. There have been side effects and consequences, but at least I'm no longer suffering because of unrequited love for a woman who suppressed me so she could shine brighter and a man who appears to be a pawn in his own life." Koba didn't continue to act unaffected. I could see the gears whirling, but he didn't even know the equation to figure out how we got to this point.
"I'm rebuilding myself, and I'll never again dim myself for another person. What you see is the result of my reforging. When I return in the spring, I will give you competition for the number one spot. So be ready for my climb. I hope we can continue to be cordial with each other like we are now." I sat back, letting him see that I was serious and calm.
You can walk away in another minute. Hold it together for just another minute, then you can let yourself fall apart. No matter what, this is still a big emotional moment, so a flare-up is building. I need to be somewhere safe when I let it happen. He eats quietly while I finish my dessert and drink. After the waiters clear the table, he focuses on me again with a determined gaze.
"I doubt you will believe me, but I don't remember ever initiating a mating bond with you. I'm not calling you a liar. I'm just stating I don't have any memories of such a sacred event, but it would explain why I was so sick last month. The doctor suggested I was experiencing backlash, but we couldn't determine what I could be having backlash from. Now I know it was from you breaking the Velintra with your…actions." He rubbed his face, and for a moment, I saw a weariness in his eyes that he had been hiding.
"I've been finding out a lot of things over this past month and a half that aren't as I first thought them to be. I will add this to matters I will need to investigate the truth about. Will you hold off on dissolving our engagement while I research and find answers? Please? Grey, please don't break us up. I love you, and I will fight for us."
For a split moment, his determination and earnestness made my resolve waver, but then the moment shifted and my body shook. My control over my essence, scent, and aura was cracking under the emotional weight of disappointment and grief that were seizing me. My body was literally rejecting him. I can't risk it. I need more distance and time. Not love right now. Sometimes love isn't enough.
"Too late, Koba. You have said this all before, convinced me to stay, and still I get hurt. Not this time. This time I'm putting myself first. Now I need to go. My mother is waiting for me. Goodbye, Koba." I stood up. Gave him a courteous bow of my head, then turned to walk away when he grabbed my wrist.
"Grey, wait! Don't give up on us. Things will be different this time. I promise. I've been talking with Papa Sullivan…" My body reacted instinctively. I turned in a spiral—weight shifting, breath sharp—my fist connecting with his face in a clean, brutal line. The impact split his skin. Blood followed. Koba staggered back, stunned more than hurt.
The silence and attention from other diners afterward was deafening. I stared at him, my heart hammering, a sick, relieving calm spreading through my chest. "I thought you'd block," I said softly. I didn't know what to do next. Koba was holding a napkin to his mouth while blankly staring at me. Luckily, the decision was taken out of my hands. Nimra calmly approached and took control of the situation. "Put this on your hand, my daughter." She handed me an ice pack.
Her voice cut through the space like a blade drawn slowly from its sheath. She stepped between us with her back to me. Her gaze fixed on Koba cooly but not aggressively. "Our staff will guide you to our private on site clinic to treat your injury," she said, tone terrifyingly level. "And then you will leave. Do not approach my daughter again unnecessarily."
Koba wiped his mouth, eyes never leaving me. "I haven't given up, Grey. I'll find answers for us. Wait for me." he said hoarsely. I turned away, not watching him leave. Nimra and Lōppi guided us out a side door to where our vehicle was waiting. After we got in and were driving away, Nimra held the ice pack to my hand with one hand and held me in her embrace with the other arm.
I let my head rest on her chest while this flare up processed through me. Nimra just held me through it then wrote some sigils over my body instantly cleaning me. I was very impressed. It must have shown on my face. "I'll teach you the sigils and the Vel'Sharii counterpart. It will be very useful for you."
She tenderly checked me over then held my face between her hands. With a kiss on my forehead she asked gently,"Are you certain that you wish to dissolve the engagement?" I swallowed. "Yes. I need a fresh start. I'll leave everything else to fate and destiny." The words hurt—but they freed me.
She didn't question me further. She changed topics to what store we should visit first. I snuggled into her embrace as I did not give Koba another thought for the rest of the afternoon. I will have enough time to think about him when I dream tonight. I may have broken ties but that doesn't mean I don't want answers.