Semua Bab He Chose His Mistress, so I Left With Our Son: Bab 1 - Bab 9

"Marcus, I'm moving to New York next month. Here's my two weeks' notice."The gallery director looked at me in shock."Why so sudden?"I fed him the lie I’d prepared in advance. "Finn's father is in New York. I'm taking him there so we can be a family again."Marcus nodded sympathetically. "Good for you. Raising a kid alone is tough. We all assumed you were a single mom."I gave a faint smile. I wasn't before, but I was about to be.The moment I walked out, I ran into James and Elsa.James was my Sire, and more importantly, the father of my child.Seven years ago, I was just a human painter working at his gallery. During one of his out-of-control feeding frenzies, he turned me, and we had a child.This year marked the sixth year of our secret Blood Bond.And the sixth year he refused to let Finn call him Dad.James strolled slowly, deliberately matching the pace of the woman beside him.Elsa was draped in James's oversized black coat, clutching the lapels. Her radiant smile felt like a

The next day, I went back to the gallery to hand over my work.James sought me out and handed me a beautifully wrapped black-and-gold box."Finn's birthday present. I forgot to give it to him yesterday."I paused, took it, and opened it.It was a ruby carved in the shape of an eagle.An eagle—the one thing my son was terrified of.When Finn was five, James took him to patrol the territory. Halfway through, James ran into an old acquaintance and let go of Finn's hand.My little boy got lost in the woods. When he was finally found, he was cowering under a tree, trembling in fear of a hawk circling above him.Since then, birds of prey had been his worst nightmare.And the man responsible for that trauma was giving him one as a gift.I didn't know if I was more angry or disappointed. I casually set the box aside."Thanks," I said, my voice completely flat.James gave me a weird look, then remembered something else."Elsa's coffin is broken. I'm letting her stay in the master bedroom for no

Seeing the bold letters on the screen, a bad feeling settled in his gut.Just as he was about to open it, Elsa strutted into the office."Your Highness, here's the contract with the human corporation you asked for."She dropped the file on his desk and casually walked up to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.In the past, he entertained this unspoken flirtation.Now, the heavy perfume on her skin just made him nauseous.He sat up straight and flipped the folder open. One page in, his brow furrowed.The entire document was a mess. Aside from the formatting, almost nothing was right. She had even gotten the blood-type supply codes wrong—an embarrassingly stupid mistake.He slammed the folder onto the desk, his voice freezing cold."Who drafted this? Do you lack basic working competence?"Elsa's face drained of color. "I... I did it, Your Highness."All of his anger suddenly fizzled out into pure exhaustion.James looked at the terrified Elsa, feeling truly helpless for the first time.H

Terrified that Elsa would embarrass him further, James avoided joining any other discussions for the rest of the night.He gave short, polite answers to anyone who approached him.The rest of the time, he sat in a dark corner, downing glass after glass of blood.When the banquet finally ended, he said his brief goodbyes and practically fled the venue.By the time he returned to the estate, he was completely exhausted. He rubbed his temples, pushed open the heavy doors, and called out out of habit:"Freya, light the incense."Silence echoed through the hall.James looked up at the dark, empty manor, and it finally hit him.She and Finn had left yesterday.He turned on the lights and went down to the cellar.As he pulled a blood bag from the fridge, he noticed that the cellar door was covered in little stickers.They were mostly human cartoon characters Finn loved.Looking at the childish stickers he used to find so annoying, James actually let out a soft laugh.He suddenly pictured Finn

New York.Today was Finn's first day of school.I woke up early to help him put on his daylight amulet, a magical artifact that protected him from the sun.Though we had only been in New York for two days, I had been planning this for months.Half a year ago, I reached out to a human friend living here. I asked him to help me secure a UV-proof apartment and find an open-minded school.At first, I didn't plan on leaving so soon; I just liked to have backup plans.Looking back, I was grateful for that habit.I also had to thank James. For all his faults, he was never stingy with his wealth during our time as mates.After watching Finn get on the school bus, I pulled my coat tighter and turned to head back inside.A familiar voice stopped me cold."Freya."I turned around stiffly. It was James.He looked paler than usual, but he was still devastatingly handsome.That was exactly how he’d fooled me back then.No one knew this, but before that night, I had harbored a secret crush on James f