جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Calling someone a "childhood sweetheart" might sound innocent, but it usually means a lot more. If the Crimson Lord couldn't give me a good answer today, I'd just cancel the ceremony. To my surprise, Julian Vance sounded ice-cold. "Who are you? What gives you the right to talk about Victoria?" Before I could even tell him I was Elara Nightshade, his powerful fiancée, he hung up on me. Rage boiled in my chest. Great. Just great. My own fiancé didn't even have my number saved! Victoria laughed. She looked more smug by the second. "Oh, you poor thing. I have no idea how you stole Lord Julian's number, but did you really think he'd care?" A cruel smirk played on her lips as she looked at my clothes. "Please. The lowest blood slaves in his manor dress better than you. Who gave you the right to be so confident?" I never cared about my clothes. As long as I could work in the lab, I was fine. I just never thought it would be used against me. I scoffed. "I don't need designer labels

My father told me Julian's father paid a massive price to get this marriage approved. If he found out his precious son ruined the deal, it would be a great show. Thinking of that, I felt a lot better. I didn't care about these idiots anymore. I spun on my heel to leave. But Victoria wouldn't let it go. Backed by Julian's blind protection, she grabbed my arm and barked. "Don't even think about running, thief! You stole my cloak and pushed me. We're not done!" I turned around. My eyes were calm. "What do you want?" She thought I was scared. She took the chance to swipe at my face. "I'm going to ruin your face, bitch! Let's see what man will ever look at you again!" I easily caught her wrist. Then I punched her hard in the chest. She stumbled back. She was stunned. She ground her teeth and screamed. "You bitch, how dare you—" I kept my grip on her wrist and shoved her again. "Happy now?" I asked coldly. Victoria stumbled back with tears in her eyes. She hid behind Julian. "

I'm no saint. After what Victoria did to me today, I was definitely not letting her walk away unscathed. My father looked at me. "Do it, Elara. Show them nobody messes with our family." My eyes were locked on Victoria. I picked up the dagger she used to stab me and walked toward her slowly. She was shaking all over. She stuttered, "If you touch me, the Lord will never let you go..." I didn't want to hear her garbage. I grabbed her by the hair. While she screamed in terror, I carved a permanent, jagged cross right into her face. She shrieked. "My face!" I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Didn't you want to ruin my face? Make sure no man ever looked at me again?" Victoria's eyes widened. All the color drained from her face. She tried to crawl backward in terror. I grabbed the box with the cloak. I opened it slowly right in front of her. The golden sunlight cloak sparkled under the lights. It was a brutal contrast to her messy, pathetic state. Then, I stayed perfectly ca

A week later, I finished healing at the Blood Spring and went back to Nightshade Manor. By then, almost every vampire in the country had heard the story of a certain Lord who made an unthinkable mistake. He offended the beloved daughter of the Senate's Supreme Lord, the highest ruler of the dark world. For days, everyone was holding their breath, watching the situation, terrified of making a wrong move. Kaelen and I were working out of the council hall at the manor for now. Honestly, this place had become the temporary center of power for the whole nation. That afternoon, I was sitting by the window reading an ancient magic tome. A Night Guard appeared in a puff of black mist and bowed. "Supreme Lord, Lady Elara. The leaders of the Obsidian and Onyx Clans request an audience." I glanced at Kaelen, who was sitting at the head of the hall. He had his eyes closed, looking completely relaxed. He didn't even open his eyes. He drawled lazily, "Let them in." Soon, two powerful figu

Kaelen and I were sipping warm blood-wine in the council hall at Nightshade Manor. The air was thick with suffocating tension. Aldous stood to the side, frozen like a statue. Every second was agonizing. Finally, footsteps broke the dead silence. Two Night Guards walked in. They dragged Julian and Victoria out. They had been tortured by the UV lights so badly they were charred and barely looked human. The moment Aldous saw his son, a brief flash of heartbreak crossed his face. But it was quickly replaced by cold fury and terror. He didn't rush forward to help him. Instead, he marched over, grabbed Julian by the back of the neck, and forced his head down toward me. "You bastard," he gritted his teeth. "Apologize!" Then, loud slaps echoed through the hall as he hit Julian across the face, over and over again. This wasn't a father disciplining his son. It was a brutal execution of punishment. "Speak! Apologize to Lady Elara right now!" he roared. Julian was completely broken.