Chapter 2

On the night of my eighteenth birthday ball, the Clare clan's ballroom was a sea of gold and crystal.

I stood in the center of it all, accepting the guests' hollow congratulations.

"Happy birthday, Miss Maggie."

"You'll be the Lady of the clan soon."

"What an enviable life."

Fake smiles. Empty words.

In my last life, I was naive enough to think they meant it.

Now, I saw them for what they were: a flock of vultures waiting to pick my bones clean.

At nine o'clock, the ballroom doors swung open again.

Julian had arrived, fashionably late.

He wore a black tuxedo, his silver hair slicked back perfectly. He looked flawless.

But my eyes were drawn to Chloe, trailing just behind him.

She wore a pale pink evening gown, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were hazy.

Most importantly, on her snow-white neck were two fresh bite marks, still beaded with blood.

Whispers rippled through the guests.

"Are those... bite marks?"

"What was Lord Julian doing just now?"

"Before her birthday ball even starts..."

I watched them, feeling nothing.

In my last life, I caught them having sex on my twenty-second birthday, after we were already bonded.

They were in one of the castle's guest rooms, shamelessly. When I threw the door open, Julian was pulling out of her, his seed glistening all over her body.

The scandal nearly blew up in the media and ended with Chloe's exile.

It seemed they started much, much earlier this time.

"Maggie," Julian said, walking up to me with a perfect smile. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," I replied, my voice flat.

He paused, clearly surprised by my coldness.

Based on my last life, I should have been heartbroken over the bite marks on Chloe's neck.

"It seems you're willing to suppress even basic female jealousy for the sake of this pact," Julian sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You play the devoted fiancée so well. Not a flicker of jealousy."

A low chuckle went through the crowd.

"She has to, to become the Lady."

"One must be proper."

Julian lifted his chin, smug. "Maggie, I hope you understand something. After we are bonded, I will be the Lord of the Clare clan. Both vampire nobles and human blood pets may become my lovers. You had best prepare yourself for that."

As he spoke, he pulled a small, exquisite black box from his pocket.

"This is your birthday gift."

Before I could take it, Chloe leaned in.

"Wow, Sanguine Elixir!" she gasped, her eyes filled with greed. "That's the legendary bio-serum! A single bottle is worth a castle! They say it grants eternal youth, delaying aging for decades!"

A collective gasp went through the ballroom.

It was an incredibly precious substance, something only the most ancient vampire families could create.

Julian looked at the box in his hand, then at Chloe's eager face. He suddenly smiled.

"Well, if Chloe likes it so much, then it's yours."

He handed the box to Chloe, then shot me a look of pure contempt. "Besides," he added, his voice dripping with contempt. "Something this precious is wasted on Maggie. She’d treasure a discarded handkerchief if it was mine."

The room erupted in laughter.

"Julian is right!"

"Something this precious is wasted on a shameless chaser like her."

"You could give her pearls and she wouldn't know their worth."

I stared at them, a memory from my past life flashing in my mind.

It was at a dinner party. A vicious vampire noblewoman had deliberately pushed me into the pool. I was soaked and humiliated.

Julian had casually taken off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

I treated it like a treasure, keeping it safe and sound.

During the height of my love for him, I even slept with that jacket in my arms.

When he found out, he mocked me in front of everyone, calling me "delusional" and telling anyone who would listen that I had a fetish for a piece of old clothing.

For a long time after that, I was too ashamed to appear in public.

Thinking of it now, it all felt so pointless.

Just how pathetic was I in my last life?

"I'm tired. I'm going to rest." I turned to leave.

"Stop," Julian's voice was sharp with anger.

I turned back to him.

"What? Dropping the act already?" he hissed, his charming mask starting to crack. "I knew it. A vicious woman like you could never pretend to be gracious for long."

The ballroom fell silent.

The guests watched the show, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Julian, please stay away from me," I said calmly.

"Stay away from you?" He sneered. "Isn't getting close to me exactly what you've been dreaming of?"

He moved in, his lips brushing my ear. "After we bond, I'll be inside you. Let's see you stay cold to my touch then."

His vile words made my stomach turn.

I once dreamed of spending an eternity with this man?

I couldn't take it anymore. I shoved him away.

"Who said I was going to choose you?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, the entire ballroom went dead silent.

Then, it exploded with even louder laughter.

"Hahaha! What did she say?"

"If not Julian, who else could she choose?"

"Is she going to choose Evan? The one who's been asleep for a hundred years?"

An older vampire noble stood up, his tone theatrically pitying. "Oh, that's right, I'd forgotten. Evan is indeed a candidate. But the poor thing was so gravely wounded in the war a century ago, his power is nearly gone. He's still dormant, even now."

Hearing this, Julian looked at me with a cruel, mocking smile.

"And," he added with a venomous smile, "some of his other… functions… were permanently damaged. He can't produce a child, Maggie. Not with you. Not with anyone."