Part 29

Livia stared at Lucien, unable to say anything. What was going on here? Had he just kissed her and asked her to choose him over Tristan?

"Lucien…" she finally managed to say. "You're my friend and I care about you, but I don't understand… Why would you…?"

"Because you deserve better than Tristan," he cut in firmly. "Please don't think for a second that I would belittle you or say that you shouldn't have the same needs everyone else has. Of course you should. What I don't want is for you to think that you have to settle for Tristan because you don't have a choice."

Livia crossed her arms.

"You think I'm that desperate?"

"No, no, I just think… Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you don't have very much experience about men. At least not nice experience."

"What?"

Lucien pressed his lips together.

"I think you know what I mean. It's alright; we don't have to talk about it."

Livia was confused.

"Talk about what?"

"You know… That night I ran into you in the garden."

"Oh…" Livia paused and straightened her back. She wasn't going to be ashamed of herself. "If you want to call me a tramp, go ahead, I don't care…"

"What, no! Geez, no. Do you really think…" He paused and took her hand. "Livia… Whoever did that to you, surely you know it wasn't your fault?"

Now she was even more confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Lucien seemed more than uncomfortable.

"You were attacked, weren't you?"

"No, no, I wasn't."

Clearly he didn't believe her.

"Lucien," she sighed. "I wasn't attacked. Not like that. What happened was…complicated."

"I see. As I said, we don't have to talk about it; I'm not going to pressure you."

They were both quiet for a moment, before Livia spoke.

"I do appreciate your concern, but do you know why I came here tonight?"

"Well…"

"For once I wanted to be like a normal woman. Yes, you were right, I don't have much experience about men, but that doesn't mean I would want to live like a nun for the rest of my life. And I'm not some foolish young girl. When I accepted Tristan's invitation, I wasn't expecting some fairytale romance, I expected sex. He was thoughtful and treated me respectfully; he wasn't taking advantage of me. So, what I'm trying to say is that I don't need to be rescued. That's what you're trying to do now, isn't it?"

Lucien was quiet for a while before replying.

"I do care about you, Livia. And if it's sex you want, I can guarantee that I'm a much better lover than Tristan."

Livia smiled.

"I care about you too, you're a good friend. I just don't think that you would really want something more serious. I think that you're doing this because you don't like Tristan and you feel that he's trying to take something from you. Or perhaps I assume too much." She paused and kissed his cheek. "Any case, you're not going to lose me, if that is what worries you, and I hope I'm not going to lose you either."

Lucien didn't have time to reply when the door opened and Tristan entered the room.

"Is everything alright?" Livia asked, concerned that Eli had hurt Tristan.

"Yes," he replied. "Your brother left."

Livia sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm so sorry, I'm really embarrassed…"

"No, please don't be," he cut in and walked over to her. "Livia…"

"You're welcome," Lucien snorted.

Tristan glanced at him coolly.

"Is there a reason why you are still here?"

Lucien smiled.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Please, don't," Livia sighed before they managed to get started. "I… I think I better go, I need to talk to Eli and calm him down…"

"No," Tristan and Lucien said in unison.

"Livia, you're not a child," Tristan continued.

"For once I agree with him," Lucien added. "The way your family patronizes you… No offence, but it's ridiculous."

"I know," Livia replied quietly. "I'm sure both of you know how complicated this whole thing is. Eli has always looked after me and I don't want to hurt him."

She had kept saying that over and over again, like a broken record. Did that really change the fact that she wanted to be treated as a grown woman she was instead of some helpless young girl. She had the right to make her own decisions. Despite of all of that, she still had no idea how she could make Eli understand.

"He doesn't own you," Lucien stated calmly. "Surely you know that?"

Livia pressed her lips together; she really wasn't comfortable talking about this. Eli didn't mean any harm, he was just very protective. She didn't think that she would even be alive if he wouldn't have taken her under his wing since the moment she had been born. When she had been a small child, he had been her whole world. He had got used to being her whole world. Now she should find a way to tell him that she wanted something more. She startled a little when Tristan suddenly touched her hair.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Just tired. This wasn't exactly the night I expected."

He smiled.

"It still can be."

Livia glanced at Lucien who was rolling his eyes.

"Charming," he snorted.

Tristan gave him an ice-cold glare.

"I believe you should leave now."

"I don't think so…"

"Lucien, please. No fighting." Livia paused and limped over to the bed. She felt the need to sit down; her head had started to hurt. Tristan sat down beside her and kissed her hand. Lucien followed his example, probably because he wanted to annoy Tristan. The whole situation was absurd to say the least. Just one normal night, that was all she had hoped. Apparently things could never be so easy for her.