Chapter 1

I sat alone in the empty room, with the documents ending my marriage placed on the table in front of me.

My name was signed in the corner of the page, the ink still fresh.

Lexi Vane.

I put down the pen and let out a long breath.

After three years, this marriage was finally coming to an end.

I had been married to Enzo for three years, yet aside from the servants in the manor, almost no one knew that I was his wife.

He had never taken me to any banquet, nor had he ever publicly acknowledged me as his wife.

No one knew that the wife of the vampire prince, Enzo Vane, was actually a human.

I called Enzo.

The call was answered quickly, and I heard his familiar voice.

“What is it?”

“Will you come back after the banquet? I need to talk to you about something.”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

“Okay.”

Just then, another woman’s voice came through the phone.

“What’s wrong, Enzo? Who is it?”

A moment later, his cold voice followed.

“Nothing. It’s not important.”

The call ended, and the room fell silent once again.

I recognized that woman’s voice. It was Vanessa. Three years ago, I had first heard her name from Enzo on our wedding night.

I looked out the window.

Today was the Vane family council. As Lady Vane, I had been left alone in the manor. Vanessa, meanwhile, was by his side.

Things like this had happened countless times over the past three years.

When I married Enzo, I had known that this was not an ordinary marriage. It was an arrangement designed to serve both families.

But when I first saw the handsome vampire prince, I still fell for him.

I began to look forward to a marriage that had begun as a transaction. I tried to become part of his life and take on the responsibilities of Lady Vane.

But Enzo had always remained distant and indifferent toward me.

I knew nothing about the first family council held after our marriage. Enzo left me alone in the dark, empty manor.

It was only after hearing about it from Ingrid, the manor’s steward, that I learned it had been an important gathering that every member of the Vane family was expected to attend.

When I learned Enzo had returned to the manor, I immediately knocked on his door.

“I heard there was a Vane family council last night. Enzo, why didn’t you tell me about it? Why didn’t you take me with you? Am I not your wife?”

His cold fingers brushed across my cheek, but the words that followed were even more painful.

“You know that was a Vane family council. Why would I bring a human woman there?”

He did not want me to appear before his clan as his wife.

He did not want to publicly acknowledge that the wife of the pureblood vampire prince of the Vane family was a human woman.

A month later, Enzo finally agreed to let me attend the Blood Moon Banquet.

I prepared carefully, determined to present myself with all the dignity expected of Lady Vane.

But everything was different from what I had imagined.

From the moment we entered the banquet hall, Enzo left me alone and busied himself speaking with the vampire elders.

I stood in the corner, the only human in the entire banquet hall. The elegantly dressed vampires looked at me with eyes filled with indifference and danger.

I tried to blend into the gathering, but no one paid attention to me.

Even the woman I had met briefly in the manor before froze when she saw me approaching and quickly found an excuse to walk away.

I could only stand there helplessly, unable to find a chance to approach anyone or leave.

“I heard Lady Vane has also come to the Blood Moon Banquet tonight.”

Enzo paused.

“Yes.”

“Where is Lady Vane?”

Hearing someone mention me, I was about to walk toward Enzo.

But a woman suddenly stepped in front of me, her voice filled with arrogance.

“Excuse me, please move aside.”

I looked up.

Before I could clearly see her face, I noticed the crest on her chest—the symbol of the Vane family.

I had seen that crest before, at my wedding with Enzo.

It should have been the symbol belonging to Enzo’s wife. But because Enzo had refused to seal the blood bond with me, it had never been placed in my hands. And now, it was worn by another woman.

I already knew who she was.

Vanessa Stern, a pureblood vampire noble and Enzo’s childhood companion.

The very person because of whom Enzo had refused to seal the blood bond with me.

I stood frozen in place, looking at Enzo in confusion.

“So it’s you.”

Vanessa finally recognized my identity and smiled.

“A human appearing at the Blood Moon Banquet… that is not a wise choice.”

In only a few words, the confrontation between Vanessa and me was enough for everyone to understand what was happening.

The vampire who had spoken earlier looked over. When he saw the Vane family crest on Vanessa’s chest, he immediately smiled politely.

“I assume this must be Lady Vane.”

Enzo also turned to look.

His gaze fell on Vanessa, then shifted to me.

But he quickly looked away and allowed Vanessa to walk to his side, taking my place as she smiled and spoke with the others.

From that night onward, I stopped clinging to the identity of “Lady Vane.”

I never attended another vampire gathering again.

Now, three years later, I was waiting for him again.

He did not answer any of my calls, and every message I sent went unanswered.

I waited for him through the entire night, sitting by the window as the moon rose and set, until darkness fell again.

When he finally returned to the manor, it was already late the next night.

The moment he saw me, he seemed to remember that he had promised to come back.

He stopped for a moment, and for once, a trace of guilt appeared in his eyes.

“Something happened to Vanessa. I couldn’t get away.”

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of my lips, but I said nothing. It was Vanessa again. Over the past three years, I had heard similar explanations countless times.

Perhaps he noticed that I had waited for him for a long time. Enzo hesitated before stopping in front of me.

“You… said last night that you had something to tell me. What was it?”

I shook my head.

“Maybe next time.”

After saying that, I even felt a little grateful that Enzo had refused to seal the blood bond with me.

At least now, I was not bound to him by it. Because in two days, our three-year contractual marriage would come to an end. And I would leave this manor. I would leave Enzo completely.