Chapter 1

I am the young lady of the vampire house of Kaelaris. Having reached marriageable age, I chose, from a stack of portraits, the eldest son of the human family Norefax. My family indulged my preference and arranged our engagement, awaiting the day of my wedding.

I do not drink red wine, but for the sake of human ceremony, I secretly went out—without telling my family—to select a rare century-aged vintage, intending to prepare it for the engagement ritual.

The woman beside me glanced at the cabinet I had pointed to and immediately instructed the sales associate, “That bottle looks quite fine. Let me have a look.”

Without hesitation, the associate rudely brushed me aside and handed the bottle straight to her.

A chill entered my gaze as I spoke, “There is an order to everything. I selected that bottle first. What you’re doing is hardly proper.”

She looked me up and down with open disdain and let out a mocking laugh. “This bottle costs sixteen thousand six hundred dollars. Dressed like that, I doubt you even qualify to smell it.”

“I am Ethan Norefax’s stepmother. In New York’s Upper East Side, so-called ‘rules’ have always been decided by the Norefax family.”

What a coincidence—Ethan was precisely my fiancé, and the very reason I wanted to buy that bottle.

I dialed his number at once and said evenly, “Your stepmother has taken the bottle of wine I reserved for our engagement. How do you intend to handle this?”

I had heard that after Mr. Norefax’s wife passed away, he married a woman the same age as Ethan. Ethan doted on her, their relationship… delicate.

If Ethan could not give me a reasonable explanation today, I would not marry him.

But to my surprise, his voice was cold. “Who are you? Whatever Lily wants is hers. You can buy something else. That’s my answer.”

I was about to state my identity when he hung up cleanly on the other end.

Anger flared in my chest. Ethan—so you haven’t even saved your fiancée’s contact.

Lily burst into laughter beside me, her eyes full of mockery. “Where did you get that number? You almost sounded convincing. Too bad Ethan doesn’t know you at all.”

Her gaze swept over my face, her tone growing sharper. “That thing on your face really saved you the cost of plastic surgery—though there’s nothing worth fixing anyway.”

I glanced at my reflection in the bottle. What she called a “birthmark” was in fact a seal left by my family’s secret art, used to suppress a vampire’s instincts.

My self-control was weak. Maintaining a human form under sunlight, keeping the thirst from driving me mad—it all depended on it. Yet she had made it a weapon to attack me.

“What era are we in,” I lifted my eyes, my voice calm and unhurried, “that you still judge people by their looks? Your perspective is rather small.”

After her disturbance, I lost all interest in choosing wine.

I turned and walked straight to the counter. “I’ll take this bottle. Ring it up.”

The associate hesitated, visibly troubled. “Miss… this is one of the store’s rare reserves. We always prioritize VIP clients.”

Lily grew even more smug. She pulled out a black-and-gold card and slapped it heavily on the counter. “VIP status requires an annual spend of one million dollars. A pauper like you—who are you trying to impress?”

I was never one to bicker, but Lily had truly lit the fire in me today.

Steadying myself, I took out a black card and handed it to the associate, my tone calm yet unquestionable. “Set up a VIP account. Then wrap the wine for me.”

Lily immediately turned to the associate, her voice laced with threat. “The Upper East Side belongs to the Norefax family. If you dare sell that bottle to her today, tomorrow I’ll have Ethan buy this store and have you thrown out on the spot.”

The associate shrank back, her voice trembling. “Miss… I’m just trying to make a living. I really can’t afford to offend the Norefax family…”

Whispers had already begun around us.

“Does that girl have no idea who she’s dealing with? Lily is Ethan’s favorite. Last time someone tried to take something from her, they lost their job the very next day.”

“Exactly. I heard they weren’t even given a chance to apologize—completely shut out of New York overnight.”

“Unless you’re from the Kaelaris family, what do you have to fight them? Better lower your head and apologize—maybe you can still walk away with some dignity.”

I am.

But I cannot say it—I snuck out.

Lily lifted her chin even higher, confidence written all over her face.

“Bitch, get on your knees right now and shout ‘I’m a dog’ three times. Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you off.”