Chapter 3

Elena's POV

The sitting room stayed quiet for a long time.

Vicky held Ryan's coat, her eyes bright enough to be frightening, already picturing herself in a vampire bride's wedding gown, standing at the heir's side while the whole world envied her.

Stepmother recovered first.

She couldn't quite contain the delight on her face, though she arranged her expression into something soft and maternal as she looked at me.

“Elena, I'm glad you've come around.”

“You're Vicky’s sister. It was only fitting that you give way to Vicky.”

“Vicky has always been delicate, and her heart is pure. Please don't keep making things difficult for her.”

I looked at that false, indulgent face of hers and felt only contempt.

In my last life, I had wanted so badly to feel some warmth from this family. That want had made me fall for her hollow performances, again and again.

She'd told me Vicky was young, so I should be the one to yield.

She'd told me she would raise me like her own daughter.

And what had come of it? Mother's inheritance had been taken from me piece by piece. Mother's jewelry ended up on Vicky's neck and wrists. Even my own room had been moved to the most remote, damp corner of the house.

I used to think Father would see it eventually.

Now I understood. He had always known. He had simply chosen Vicky long ago, and stopped caring about me.

I raised my head and smiled lightly.

“I can agree to the exchange.”

“But I have two conditions.”

Stepmother's smile stiffened slightly.

I kept my expression calm and said simply: “First. Return my mother's inheritance to me.”

The words landed like a slap. Panic flickered in her eyes before she quickly plastered on another smile.

“Elena, why speak of returning? We're family.”

“I've been keeping your mother's things safe for you all along.”

“I always intended to give them to you as part of your dowry when you were married.”

I said nothing. I simply watched her.

The smile on her face grew more rigid with every passing second.

She was probably wishing I would cry or make a scene the way I used to, so she could catch me in an undignified moment and turn Father against me.

But I didn't say another word.

My silence unsettled her. Her fingers clutched at the fabric of her skirt, and finally, unable to bear it, she looked away.

“Since it was always meant to be my dowry,” I said quietly, “there's nothing unreasonable about asking for it now, is there?”

Stepmother opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Father finally spoke.

“Those things belonged to your mother. They were always meant for you.”

“If you want them, I'll have someone gather them.”

Stepmother's expression nearly crumbled.

But with Father watching, she had no choice but to nod stiffly.

“Of course. That was always my intention.”

I didn't spare her another glance. I turned to Vicky.

“The necklace around your neck. I'll have it back now.”

Vicky's hand flew instinctively to her throat.

The ruby caught the light between her fingers, a drop of congealed blood.

Looking at it, I felt a dull ache spread through my chest.

In my last life, she had been wearing it when she stood at the side of my bed and drove the blade into my heart.

I had just given birth. My entire body was too weak to lift a hand.

And yet I had recognized it at once.

It was the thing my mother had treasured most.

My mother had pressed it into my hands on her deathbed, and said she hoped it would stand in for her and keep me company as I grew up.

Later, it turned up in Vicky's jewelry box.

I had asked for it back.

She cried and said she had only taken it because she loved it so much. It wasn't on purpose.

Stepmother called me petty. Said what was the harm in letting Vicky wear it for a day or two.

Father said I shouldn't make trouble at home over something so small.

So I had backed down. Again and again I backed down.

Until in the end they took everything, even my life.

When I held out my hand, Vicky's face darkened immediately. She bit her lip, and fresh tears began gathering in her eyes.

Once, Father would have grown impatient at the sight of that expression and told me to step aside.

But this time, Vicky knew perfectly well that once she married Ryan, she would have far more than a single necklace. Being the wife of the heir to the vampire King, the future princess consort. This title would let her outrank me for the rest of my life.

She finally, reluctantly, unclasped the necklace and shoved it into my palm.

“Take it, then.”

“Once I'm married to Ryan, I'll have better.”

The moment the ruby settled in my hand, my breath caught.

The smooth stone pressed against my skin, and it felt, for just an instant, as though my mother had finally reached out and taken hold of my hand again.

I looked down at it for a long time.

Not until the swell of grief in my chest had quietly subsided did I close my fingers around it and look up.

“My second condition.”

Stepmother tensed immediately.

“What else do you want?”

I put on my most accommodating smile.

“The exchange can happen. But it must be done in secret.”

“Until the wedding is over, no one can know that the bride has been changed from me to Vicky.”

The room fell silent again.

Father's expression turned grave.

“Do you understand what you're saying?”

“Deceiving the Elder Council and the royal family is not a small matter.”

I nodded.

“I know.”

“Which is exactly why it can't be disclosed beforehand.”

I looked toward Vicky, my voice measured and nearly sincere.

“Tonight, the Elder Council announced publicly that Ryan's chosen bride is me.”

“If the change is made known now, things will become very complicated.”

“But once the wedding is done, everything becomes different.”

Vicky stared at me, still not quite catching up.

I continued.

“We do look somewhat alike.”

“On the day of the wedding, with heavier makeup and a veil, guests watching from a distance won't easily notice.”

“And even when Ryan lifts the veil and discovers the bride is you, that won't matter.”

I smiled gently, thinking of how the two of them had pressed together in my last moments.

“You've always said he likes you, haven't you?”

“If the person he truly loves is you, then even if he finds out the bride has changed, he'll only go along with it.”

“Ryan will protect you. The whole thing will simply pass.”

Vicky's face went pink.

She looked down at the coat in her arms, already sinking deep into her own daydream.

“Of course he'll protect me. He's always liked me.”

“He only picked the wrong person tonight because you tricked him with your poor-little-me act.”

Stepmother's smile finally returned.

“Quite right. When Ryan lifts the veil and finds Vicky looking back at him, he might even be pleasantly surprised.”

I watched their foolish, greedy smiles and felt nothing at all.

In my last life, the more I had feared losing, the harder I had clung to my place as Ryan's bride.

I thought it was my escape from this house.

I learned too late. It was only a more beautiful, more terrible cage.