He noticed the bottle of champagne before he had even walked through the bedroom door.
"Are you calling for a celebration?" He yelled, hoping Victoria would hear him through the bathroom door.
"As a matter of fact, I am." She called, opening the door. After being on bedrest for so long, the sight of her took his breath away. She had on her signature heels and a tight blue dress. "I called the good doctor today and imagine my surprise when this whole week I could have been off of bedrest and off of that stupid boot. Seems you must have been too distracted to tell me." She said, raising an eyebrow.
He felt the heat on his face. He had known for a while now that Victoria had been able to move around but hadn't actually let her in on it. He enjoyed having her stuck in bed and unable to scurry off away from him. He thought it was being romantic, but the way Victoria described it made him realize it sounded like a Stephen King novel.
"I just wanted you to rest, darling."
"Interesting. I thought you just wanted me chained to the bed for your amusement." She quipped.
"You were hardly chained, but can you blame a man for entertaining the notion of you waiting in bed all day for me?"
"It was hardly for you."
"Oh, don't be like that."
"How should I be? Grateful for holding me prisoner?"
"I did take care of you. You were hardly prisoner. No need to be over dramatic."
"No need to continue this conversation. Unlike a few days ago, I am free to come and go as I please. You can't keep me here anymore."
"As if I've ever been able to keep you here!" He yelled, suddenly losing his temper.
"What the hell does that mean?" She shouted back.
"It means I have never been enough for you! Once again I took care of you when you needed. Who else has looked after you since the accident? Look around, Charlotte, Daniel, your friends, none of them are here. Only me!"
"You probably forced them out the way you forced me in!"
"Oh, no. You did that all on your own, my dear. You make it impossible. You can't love a block of ice and that's what you are, Victoria! An ice queen."
The stinging slap across his face was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. She hadn't even been angry at Conrad for lying about the bedrest but true to his nature, he found a way to use her deepest fears to hurt her. As always, he found a way to break her heart.