I Was His Substitute, Until I Disappeared With His Child のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

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

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

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

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

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