"One hundred million, leave my son and never appear in front of him again. He is a noble vampire, you are not from the same world."
My husband Evan's mother spoke condescendingly, her pupils glowing blood red in the candlelight.
In the past, I would have told her that I loved Evan and would never leave him.
Now I just smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay, as you wish. I'll leave in a week and never come back."
After receiving the check with the ancient family crest, I returned to the castle. A feast was being held there tonight, and the air was filled with the scent of blood and champagne.
Today is our fifth anniversary. Evan brought his secretary Lilith back again, under the pretext of letting her "learn how to charm the immortals."
In fact, since we signed the contract, this is the countless blood servant or lover he has brought back.
Everyone was waiting to see me make a fool of myself, and I once again lived up to their expectations and said that I wanted to break the blood contract with Evan.
Evan sneered, his fangs gleaming coldly in the moonlight. He spoke with contempt and sarcasm:
"Elaine, when have you ever not mentioned canceling the contract? I'm tired of hearing that. I'm even more tired of hearing it than your breathing in your coffin!"
I didn't want to pay attention to him and turned around to pack my bags.
The old butler wanted to dissuade him, but Evan shouted coldly:
"Let her make a fuss. In three days, she'll come crawling back like a lost dog."
There was a burst of laughter in the castle, and everyone was mocking me for playing hard to get and not knowing how to appreciate my kindness.
They poured a thousand-Evanar-old brew of blood into it right in front of me.
They bet that if I can't make it through the night, I'll be like a begging animal, crying and begging Evan to let me come back under his protection.
But they didn't know that this was the 100th time I had asked to break the blood contract, and it would be the last time, because in seven days, someone that person had arranged would come to pick me up.
------
I was dragging my packed suitcase, but before I even walked out of the castle corridor, my wrist was suddenly grabbed by a cold hand with such force that it almost broke my bones.
I was forced to look up and met Evan's bloodshot eEvans.
"Elaine, you want to leave?" He pulled me toward the hall. My elbow slammed against a stone pillar carved with a bat-wing totem, but the pain was far less than the icy chill of his words. "This silk dress you're wearing was given to you by me last month. The blood amber necklace around your neck was a wedding gift from my mother. Over the Evanars, every drop of blood you've relied on for survival has come from the Evan family. If you want to leave, leave everything I've given you behind."
Bloodthirsty laughter instantly erupted in the hall.
His best friend, the equally ancient vampire Zane, hugged his blood servant and whistled, "Master Evan is right! Some lowly blood prey, having received the Evan family's gift, dare to act like a spoiled child?"
Secretary Lilith walked over in high heels, her fingertips deliberately brushing the hem of my skirt. Her voice was as sweet as poison: "Sister Elaine, don't be angry. Your brother is still in the blood hospital waiting for a blood transfusion. Without Lord Evan, where would you get the blood to save him? If he really passed away, your brother would..."
These words were like poisoned silver needles, piercing my soft spot precisely.
But I clenched my fists and broke free from Evan's hand: "Evan, have you forgotten what we did back then?"
He sneered, "Have you forgotten that when I was injured by the silver bullet and my strength was exhausted, you took advantage of the opportunity to sign a blood pact with me? Or have you forgotten that you stole my blood to nourish your half-dead, lowly brother?"
On that rainy night three Evanars ago, I found Evan beside an abandoned tomb. He was covered in blood, his powers sealed. He didn't even have the strength to open his eEvans. He could only mutter over and over, "Don't take me to the Vampire Temple..."
The wounds on his body were caused by silver and holy power. I saved him at the risk of being hunted by the witcher and even his enemies.
I hid him in my dark and cramped attic, cleaned his wounds with herbs bought with my meager income, shared my limited food with him, and even sold the only painting left by my father, a depiction of the ancient Sunset Manor, in exchange for the blood ganoderma that could ease his pain.
He grasped my hand, stiff with cold, and said, "Elaine, when I regain my strength, I will let you bathe in the moonlight forever and dwell in the Immortal Castle."
We spent that time snuggling in that dim attic. He even twisted an old copper coin into a ring for me, saying, "This is the symbol of our blood oath, which will be replaced by an Eternal Star Diamond in the future."
I laughed at myself and said that all my food, clothing and blood came from the Evan family, but that copper coin ring is still in my palm and has never been replaced. I have never even had a real vampire wedding.
At that moment, he stared at me, his eEvans as if examining an ant. "That was the confusion I felt when my strength was completely gone! Elaine, do you really think that a noble Tremere would spend eternity with a fragile being like you? If it weren't for the fact that you once took care of me, you wouldn't even be worthy of setting foot in Evan's Castle!"
Lilith immediately chimed in, her voice hissing like a vampire bat. "Lord Evan is simply too soft-hearted. Some humans, having tasted the blood of immortality, dream of eternal attachment, even considering themselves the mistress of the house?" As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and tugged at my collar. "Look at this dress! It's a waste on you. Only a body worthy of eternal beauty is worth possessing."
"That's right," Zane took a step forward, his eEvans glancing greedily over my neck. "If you really want to leave, leave behind 'everything' that Master Evan has given you, and go back to your sunshine, naked and naked! That's how we're even now!"
The inhuman creatures in the room laughed even louder, their laughter like a cold whip.
I stared at Evan. He didn't stop me. Instead, he took a sip of the scarlet liquid and said lightly, "Elaine, they are right. If you have any backbone, take it off. Don't make me think that you made a blood pact with me just to covet immortal life. The Evan family does not spare the greedy blood."
"Greed?" I suddenly laughed. "When you lay dying beside the grave, who dragged you back to the attic? Who used mortal herbs to clean the burns on your body? You said that even if you regained your memory and power, you would still cherish me, and that the difference in blood could not separate us. Were they all lies?"
His Adam's apple rolled, and he turned away, exhaling icy breath. "That was an illusion before my strength returned. Now I am a descendant of the Tremere, and we are worlds apart. I will stop your brother's blood therapy immediately. Do you dare to leave?"
These words pierced my heart like an icicle.
I was afraid that my brother would lose his blood therapy, but I was even more afraid of the endless torture and humiliation.
My sincerity was treated as dust and my dignity was ruthlessly trampled upon.
I didn't say anything else, raising my hand to zip up my skirt. The cold sensation of metal scraping against my skin, mixed with the icy gazes of the vampires in the room, was like a silver blade slicing through my soul.
"Hey, you're really taking it off?" Zane teased. Lilith leaned over to Evan and whispered, "You're definitely pretending. You'll be begging for mercy soon."
The zipper slid to my waist, and the silk skirt slipped off, revealing the old scar on my leg - it was caused by falling off the carriage in the dark while looking for the night dew flower to relieve his blood thirst after he lost his memory.
Evan's eEvans fell on the scar, and his fingers holding the blood cup paused almost imperceptibly.
I continued unbuttoning my shirt, revealing the spot on my collarbone where he'd repeatedly kissed and left a fleeting mark. His fellow vampires' breathing grew heavier. With only my underwear left, Evan suddenly leaped, yanking a thick black velvet cloak from the throne and draping it over me. His voice trembled with suppressed anger and a barely perceptible tremor. "Enough! Elaine! You've brought shame upon the Tremere!"
"Your shame?" I pushed him away, my cloak sliding down, revealing my shoulders. "When you said the blood oath would last forever, why didn't you feel ashamed?"
His lips parted slightly, but in the end no word came out.
