Início / Vampire História curta / I Was His Substitute, Until I Disappeared With His Child / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Todos os capítulos de I Was His Substitute, Until I Disappeared With His Child: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

16 Capítulos

Chapter 1

Elena's POVI was born the second daughter of the Valerie family.In a family that measured everything by the value of a marriage alliance, a second daughter wasn't worthless — but wasn’t the first choice either.Since I was a little child, my parents barely spared me a glance.They brought me along to the social gatherings of the vampire nobility, where I was nothing more than a backdrop.Not too dazzling or memorable.Everything changed at the ball that year — the first time I saw James.The second son of a noble vampire family, standing quietly beside his father and elder brother.My parents told me he was the boy I had been promised to since the day I was born — that I should mind my manners and learn how to stand by his side.He was still young then, but the cold, sharp lines of his features had already taken shape.In that single moment, everything shifted. For the first time in my life, I wanted to fight for something. I wanted to be remembered.His expression was distant. He ga

Chapter 2

Elena's POVWhen I woke up, it wasn't fully light yet. A thin sliver of cold white light came through the gap in the curtains. The room was unnaturally quiet.I was slumped against the couch, still in last night's gown, exhausted to the point that I could barely move. My head felt thick and dull, and my temples were throbbing — only then did it sink in that I'd gone days without proper sleep, working to put Vicky's engagement banquet together.James stirred on the bed, and I was wide awake in an instant.The moment James opened his eyes, his gaze was cold as a blade — instinctively wary, on guard. His eyes swept the room before landing on me, and only then did his expression falter, though the wariness didn't fully leave him.His eyes searched mine — checking something, maybe, or trying to sidestep whatever had happened the night before.I slowly straightened up. My voice was a little hoarse. "You're awake."He didn't answer. He just stared at me for a few seconds, then looked away and

Chapter 3

Elena's POVMaybe it was because Vicky never gave him the reaction he was looking for that morning at breakfast — from then on James started coming around a lot more often.At first, I felt a quiet, secret kind of happiness.He'd send flowers to my apartment before I left for work. Or a short message saying we were attending some banquet together that evening.Sometimes he would even drop by my studio and sit on the couch, leafing through my design sketches.One day, he found a sketchbook on my shelf — the one with the wedding I had designed for myself. Swing. Alawn and fountain just out of view. Compared to those lavish vampire banquets, the design looked almost too simple.I didn't want to put any pressure on him. I watched him carefully, said nothing, and quietly closed the sketchbook.But James just stood there for a long time, silent."This wedding looks beautiful."He was turned slightly to the side. The studio light cast a shadow down the line of his face."Thank you. It's a des

Chapter 4

Elena's POVAfter the engagement banquet, Vicky and Joey set the date for their wedding before long.There was no way the gossip from those weeks hadn't reached their ears, but Vicky still went out of her way to choose me as her wedding planner.She seemed to require my presence—her pitiful contrast—just to reassure herself that she would always be the one chosen, effortlessly and without question.I had a betrothal in hand, but didn't even have a date set for an engagement banquet. Over time, I had become a joke to everyone — quietly, by default.Because I'd grown up without my parents' attention, I'd always assumed I just wasn't good enough — that was why James didn't love me. So in front of Vicky, I had always shrunk.I had taken her petty cruelties for years, following the family's instruction never to provoke a vampire.But now — thinking of the way James had looked at me, the gifts he had sent — I suddenly didn't want to bow that low anymore.When we were planning the wedding, I

Chapter 5

Elena's POVI walked the streets for a very long time before I made it home.My heels had rubbed blisters into my ankles. I was cold all over.I sank down by the entryway and looked at my empty apartment, and it suddenly hit me — most of my things were actually at James's estate.For the past few years, I had basically been working as his private assistant.Arranging his banquets. Managing his social affairs. More often than not, sleeping in his guest room.So all this time, I had been devoted myself to him like that, with not a single thing in return.Looking down at the dress that didn't really fit me, I just leaned forward against the floor and laughed bitterly.The wedding I had designed with my heart had been taken by James and given to Vicky.The engagement banquet I had waited years for still didn't have a date.I had spent all those years adapting to the world of vampires, putting myself together every single day, hoping that someday James would take me in.In the end, I had no

Chapter 6

James's POVThe moment I came awake in that bed, my head was splitting from the hangover.The fragments of last night came back to me piece by piece. My first instinct was to check whether I'd done anything I shouldn't have. The name Vicky flashed through my mind, and I sobered up the rest of the way in a heartbeat.If it had been her, I would have caused her no end of trouble.But the next moment, I caught the scent that lingered in the air.Not Vicky.Elena.The relief came almost before I could stop it.At least it wasn't Vicky. She was my brother's wife now. I loved her, but I couldn't put her in a position like that.I had drunk far too much last night. At least I hadn't done anything irreparable.That thought let me relax for a moment. Then a new problem closed in.If it had been Elena, that meant I had to put it on the schedule.The engagement.The word made me restless.I had been putting it off, but it didn't feel like there was much room left to keep dodging it.What unsettle

Chapter 7

James's POVThe moment I walked out of the gala, I knew something was wrong.At first I tried to explain it to myself with "she's avoiding me," but the thought didn't hold up for long.Elena didn't run. If she was unhappy, she stayed — enduring, compromising, talking herself into it. She didn't just vanish without a word.But now, she was gone.The moment that landed in my mind, I went looking for her without stopping to think.I went to her studio first. The place had been cleaned out — the design sketches stacked neatly on the desk, like someone had deliberately tied up loose ends.The assistant who handled her bookings looked nervous when she saw me, but she answered cautiously: Elena had paused all her work recently, hadn't handed anything off, hadn't told anyone where she was going. They had assumed she was just taking a break.I didn't say much. I turned around and went to the venues and partner families she dealt with regularly.The answers were all the same. No one had seen her

Chapter 8

James's POVFor the next several days, I checked every place I could think of.The places she went often. The places she had mentioned in passing. Even the little, irrelevant details — I sifted through every one of them.Nothing.She wasn't anywhere.No one had seen her. There were no leads. No traces. It was as if she had deliberately erased herself from the world. Not so much as a stray thread left behind.I started losing my temper more and more easily.When I came back to the estate, the feeling only got sharper. The house was the same as ever. The servants were still here. But for the first time, the place felt empty in a way that put me on edge.When dinner came out, I took one bite and frowned.Wrong.I had them remake it. The second one was the same. I stared at the elegant plate of food in front of me, and it suddenly hit me — these little details had never gone wrong before.Because Elena had been here.She had known every one of my habits. She had taken care of everything be

Chapter 9

James's POVThe moment I saw Vicky, I went still on instinct.If this had been before, having her show up at a moment like this should have been a relief. I would have stepped toward her without thinking.But now I just stood there, my mind blank for a second, none of the feelings I would have expected.She walked in on her heels. Her gaze paused for a beat on the wreckage on the floor, her brows drawing together for a moment. Then she smoothed it over and gave me that familiar, gentle look."James, what's wrong?"Her voice was soft, soothing. She walked up to me, and like a hundred times before, she reached out and put her arms around me — easy, intimate."I heard you hadn't gone out for days. I was a little worried, so I came to check on you."Her breath was right there at my skin, and I didn't respond to any of it.I let her hold me. My body was rigid. The face flashing through my head wasn't hers.It was Elena's.Where was she now.The thought came out of nowhere, and it was startl

Chapter 10

Elena's POVThe sunlight came in slanting through the window, spilling across the floor and across the paper Jacob and I had spread out.He was hunched over the edge of the table, a crayon clutched in his small hand, coloring with absolute seriousness, his little brow drawn together as if he were working out something important.I sat next to him, mixing his paints for him while I watched him carefully drag a wash of orange across the sky."Mommy, that's the sun." He looked up at me, his eyes bright.I smiled and nodded. "It's beautiful, sweetheart."He went back to his drawing, humming something under his breath that wasn't really a tune, quiet and absorbed.The sunlight caught in his soft hair and gave it a gentle glow. I couldn't help reaching over and ruffling his head.The moment was so quiet it almost didn't feel real.Looking at him, I realized that the life that had nearly trapped me was five years behind me already.Five years ago, I had run out of that world a wreck.I hadn't

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