Close Your Eyes, Remember Me (TBF Book 1)

Lucia

Without a concrete decision having been made in terms of where she stood with her arranged engagement and new vampire family, Lucia continued to enjoy her days in the same fashion she had been for the past few weeks: spending her mornings reading novels, adventuring through the house and gossiping with Sariyah, and her afternoons and evenings with Elijah, sharing books, kisses and blankets. Surprisingly, she had been allowed a fair bit more freedom since her walk in the gardens, although mostly from Sariyah rather than Elijah, he preferred to accompany her everywhere.

Did a teeny, tiny part of her feel guilty and hypocritical for basking in the love and luxuries showered upon her by her betrothed? Yes. Was that part of her so tiny that she found herself able to easily drown it out with a lazy afternoon lounging in the garden reading? Also yes. As much as she did not like the conditions in which she had come to be in this situation, she couldn't fault it in terms of being her greatest dream come true. If you had asked her a few months ago where she would like to be in a year or five years or even ten years her answer would always be the same: rich enough to be able to spend the majority of her time reading, preferably in a beautifully crafted library of her own design.

The wedding was not for a few more weeks, she had time to enjoy her fantasy life while it lasted. Because she knew it couldn't last forever, not like this anyway. She couldn't hide what she knew forever and she hadn't yet forgiven them for lying to her either. Sometimes she allowed herself to contemplate what would happen when she revealed herself as having recovered her memory, would they try to force her into the wedding anyway? Should she even reveal what she knows? Perhaps it would be best to simply wait until the coast was clear and slink away. Not that she envisioned having much luck getting very far what with the vampiric guards positioned all about the grounds.

And then there was the situation with Alyssa, Lucia still wanted her revenge. She also didn't want that skinny psychopath to weasel her way into Elijah's arms upon Lucia's escape. She may not know for sure if she was ready for marriage but she sure as hell wasn't going to let someone else have Elijah, especially not his own sister. Adopted or not it was creepy in Lucia's books because they had been raised as siblings, had she always felt that way about him? Was there any chance he reciprocated? No, Lucia shook her head, earning a strange look from Sariyah, she was sure Elijah wasn't deranged... She didn't think he even spent that much time with her...

"Sariyah?" She asked as casually as she could.

"Yes, darling?"

"How close are Elijah and Alyssa?"

"That's kind of tough to answer for me," She answered with an awkward smile, "I'm not in the main family so I can't really give you an accurate answer on that."

It baffled Lucia that cousins weren't considered part of the main family for the Bonnets, she could understand in her own family because there were layers and layers of cousins, second cousins and plenty of people you simply called a cousin because you knew they were related to you but wouldn't have a clue where to start in explaining how or through which branch of the family tree. In the Bonnet family they had their second cousins out in the compound - they weren't considered part of the true bloodline, but first cousins like Reginald and Sariyah lived in the Bonnet mansion. It made zero sense.

Still, she couldn't get off track, she wanted to know about Elijah and Alyssa.

"But you're pretty perceptive and you're very close with Elijah, right?"

"Oh, how you flatter me! Well, I suppose if I were to give my personal opinion..." She taped her chin lightly, "I would definitely say they used to be closer, when Alyssa was young and human they spent a lot of time together - he got to play the role of big brother again when they brought her home and I think he liked that, he was a very good brother to Eden but she was all grown up by the time Alyssa was adopted. Then she reached adulthood and I think he just felt that he should let her do her own thing. Since you came into the house she has been pawing for his attention more than usual but I don't know if she was like that before and I just didn't notice."