Chapter 2

Eleanor's POV

I sat at the dining table, staring at the matching necklace set, until the sky outside went completely dark.

It was the anniversary gift I had chosen for Cassian.

I had ordered it a month in advance.

Because Cassian once told me he liked us having matching things.

He said married couples should have something that marked them as belonging to each other.

So for five years, on every important occasion, I prepared gifts with great care.

I used to believe these little traditions represented our unwavering devotion to each other.

It wasn't until yesterday that I learned he had given an identical ring to another woman.

I looked down at my hand.

I had worn that ring for five years.

I never felt it was missing anything.

Because I had always believed that the moment Cassian slid it onto my finger was proof enough of his love.

But now, I suddenly didn't know how much of what I had believed was ever real.

My marriage to Cassian was never about love from the start.

At least, not at first.

Before I became a Blackwood, I was Eleanor Valerie.

Because of my rare bloodline, the Elder Council chose me to marry Cassian Blackwood, heir to the vampire throne.

Back then, everyone told me this was the greatest fortune of my life.

A human, marrying the future ruler of the vampire world.

But only I knew how terrified I was.

Someone had warned me that Cassian had a childhood sweetheart, another vampire. If my bloodline hadn't been so valuable, she might have been the one to marry him.

She had married someone else, but apparently divorced before Cassian and I wed. After that, she rarely appeared in public.

I had heard too many stories about vampires.

They were powerful and cold, with strength far beyond any human's.

And I was just an ordinary human.

I didn't know if Cassian would look down on me.

If he would treat me as nothing more than a bloodline tool.

The first time I met Cassian, I didn't even dare to look him in the eye.

But he was nothing like what I had imagined.

That evening was the formal dinner between our two families.

I had rehearsed their etiquette over and over, afraid I would make a mistake.

But once I walked into a room full of vampires, I still stuck out like a sore thumb.

I thought Cassian would be embarrassed.

But he simply came to my side and quietly told me not to be nervous.

When others spoke too quickly, he would quietly fill me in.

When I didn't know how to respond, he would discreetly cue me.

After that evening, for the first time, I felt that maybe this marriage wouldn't be so terrifying after all.

Later, during our engagement, I gradually discovered that Cassian was even gentler than I had imagined.

When I struggled with vampire customs, he arranged for someone to teach me.

When I couldn't adjust to their diet, he had the kitchen prepare human food.

The first time I attended a large banquet, I left early because of the pressure. He didn't blame me. Instead, he stayed with me in the garden until it was over.

He said, "Eleanor, you don't have to turn yourself into someone else just to be my wife."

I remembered that line for years.

So even when many people called our union a strategic alliance, I didn't care.

Because I knew Cassian truly cared about me.

After the wedding, he continued to treat me well.

My health was fragile, and he remembered every single checkup.

When I was pregnant for the first time, he seemed even more worried than I was.

Watching him from behind in the hospital corridor, I felt for the first time that I truly had a home.

But the baby didn't make it.

During that time, I kept blaming myself.

I couldn't give Cassian a child. I had failed in my duty as his wife.

I couldn't live up to what everyone expected of me.

I cried for a long time.

But Cassian held me and told me not to blame myself.

So when I lost the baby a second time, and then a third, I still believed him.

I believed he was suffering just as much as I was.

I believed he wanted our child just as badly, that the only reason he couldn't always be by my side was the weight of his position and responsibilities.

But last night, I saw a different answer.

In the early hours of the morning, I finally heard the front door.

I looked up.

Cassian was home.

He saw the dark circles under my eyes and stopped short when he realized I was still sitting at the dining table.

Then he walked quickly to my side.

"Eleanor, why are you still up?"

His voice was laced with concern.

Just like every other late night in the past five years. Exactly the same.

He pressed a hand to my forehead.

"Are you feeling sick?"

If this had been before, his concern would have melted me.

But now, all I felt was a growing chill.

Because I knew exactly where he had just come from.

I knew who he had just held and the tender voice he had used to soothe another woman.

And yet, here he was, caring for me as if nothing had happened.

I didn't pull away from his hand.

I just asked quietly, "Cassian."

"Hmm?"

"When you were young, did you have a close friend? A female vampire?"

His hand paused for just a fraction of a second.

If I hadn't already seen everything, I never would have noticed that moment of hesitation.

"Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?"

I lowered my eyes.

"I heard someone mention it a while ago."

"They said you had a really close friend growing up."

I tried to keep my voice sounding normal.

"It just popped into my head."

Cassian looked at me.

He seemed to be weighing why I would suddenly bring this person up.

After a few seconds, he finally spoke.

"Yes."

"Her name was Seraphina."

When I heard the name, my heart seized.

Just as I thought.

It was her.

The mother of that child.

The woman Cassian had been living with in secret.

But I only nodded quietly.

"So that's her name."

Cassian leaned back on the sofa.

His tone was casual.

"We were close as kids."

"But we lost touch after that."

He said it so naturally.

If I hadn't seen that house with my own eyes, I would have believed every word of his lie.

I looked at him.

The gentle, patient Cassian I knew suddenly began to feel like a stranger.

For the first time in five years, I realized that Cassian could lie this calmly.

He knew I trusted him completely.

He knew I wouldn't easily doubt him.

So he didn't even need to craft an elaborate story.

All he needed was that same gentle tone, and I would believe him.

"Where is she now?"

I pressed.

Cassian shook his head.

"No idea."

"She left after her divorce."

"I haven't seen her in years."

I listened in silence.

I didn't question him, either.

Didn't challenge him.

Because in that moment, I suddenly wanted to see just how long he could keep lying to me.

"Eleanor."

Cassian took my hand.

"Have you been thinking too much about the babies today?"

"You've been under too much stress lately."

"Don't let your mind run wild."

In the past, those words would have made me feel safe.

But now, all I felt was bitter irony.

He always did this.

He gave me tenderness whenever I was most vulnerable.

Then he let me go on believing him.

I leaned into his embrace, but for the first time, the warmth of his arms felt ice-cold.

That night, Cassian's hand rested on my waist out of habit, just like countless nights before.

But I lay there with my eyes open until dawn.

I thought about the girl who had met him for the first time five years ago.

The girl who, because of his gentleness, had slowly let down her guard and decided to give him the rest of her life.

She didn't know.

That one day, the person she trusted most would stand before her and speak the cruelest lies in the softest voice.