THE CRACK IN THE ARMOR

Chapter 4: The Crack in the Armor

The room was super quiet and you could hear a pin drop. Elena's heart was beating fast. It was like she had a drum in her chest. Silas was standing in the doorway with his hand on the doorknob. He looked confused then really shocked.

Julian didn't move back. He didn't try to hide. He just sat up, his chest shining in the firelight.

"Silas, " Julian said in a serious voice. "You should knock before coming."

"The alarm went off, " Silas stuttered. "I thought someone was breaking in. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Julian's voice was icy. "Check the sensors again. It was probably the wind or a deer."

Silas. Backed out. "Right. A deer. Sorry. I'll just go."

The room felt really tense. Elena breathed a sigh of relief when Silas left. Julian's expression had changed. He looked scared for a second. Now he was back to his usual self.

"I should go, " Elena said. "Silas saw us. Everything is fine now."

"Stay, " Julian said. It wasn't a question. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumped.

Elena hesitated. "Julian you were talking in your sleep. You said 'not her.' Who were you talking about?"

Julian's body stiffened. He didn't say anything for a while. "My mother, " he said finally. "She was driven away. My father made sure she was erased."

Elena felt a shock. She had never heard of Julian's mother before.

The day they went on a hike. Penelope had planned it to test them.

"So Elena, " Penelope said. "Julian mentioned you two met at a jazz club. Which one was it?"

Elena thought for a second. "The Village Vanguard " she said. "It was raining. Julian didn't have an umbrella."

Julian looked at her surprised.

They reached the top of the mountain. There were a lot of black SUVs at the bottom.

"The press, " Julian said, his face tense. "They found us."

Penelope checked her phone. "The European investors are here too. They want to see us before the rehearsal dinner tonight."

Julian's face went white.

Elena stood up straight. "Lets give them what they want. We'll go there and pretend to be a happy couple."

When they got to the bottom there were a lot of cameras. Julian put his arm around Elena's shoulders.

"Miss Rossi didn't just survive my mistakes, " Julian said. "She's the thing that's happened to me. Now if you'll excuse us we have a wedding to plan."

The crowd was quiet.

When they got into the SUV Elena's phone rang. It was Marcus.

"Elena, don't look at the news. Silas just did an interview with a local station."

Elena's heart sank. Silas was saying that Julian was going to propose to her at the rehearsal dinner tonight.

Julian's face was really angry.

Elena asked, "What do we do?"

Julian looked defeated. "I don't have a ring.. If I don't give you one tonight everything will fall apart."

He pulled out a box. There was a diamond ring inside.

"This was for Penelope, " Julian said. ". Now it's for you. You have to say yes when I ask you to marry me.. I'll lose everything."

The car stopped. The cameras were waiting.

"Elena, " Julian said. "Are you ready to be a Vane?"