Married To The Mad Vampire Lord - Chapter 422

Chapter 422: The fight_Part 3
He had told her he had a “surprise” for her. But who would have imagined that the fool was bringing her to admire the newest designs of wedding dresses he had already booked in advance, for their marriage? A marriage she had absolutely no interest in.

“Surprise!” Josh had said as he guided her into the shop. Cordelia’s first instinct was to slap some sense into him for ruining her day. All night she had been thinking about what surprise he had in store for her, imagining something grand and worthy of her time.

She had thought the fool had built her another establishment in a new town, something that would at least be useful or bring her joy. But instead, he had brought her here.

He even had the nerve to say, “I know you’re as eager as I am to marry, and what better way to surprise you than by letting you be the first to see the latest wedding dresses and choose before anyone else?”

“So this is your surprise,” Cordelia had said with all the forced sweetness she could muster, her smile strained and tight.

“Do you like it?” Josh had asked proudly, grinning from ear to ear as though he had done something remarkable.

Like it? Cordelia thought with bitter fury. She wanted to strangle him for this. If only he were the man she truly wanted, perhaps she would have been over the moon with excitement. But he wasn’t.

She’d been in a foul mood ever since, ready to demand he take her home immediately. But then, by pure chance, she had turned toward the window and caught sight of the Duke’s carriage outside. Her sharp eyes instantly picked out the two women she hated most, one with red hair and the other blonde.

And then she saw Rav hand over an unfamiliar child, a little boy who looked to be no more than a year old, to the redheaded woman. She narrowed her eyes on the boy, who was dressed in brown attire, his small cap having slipped off his head as Rav tried to fix it back in place.

“Well, well, well,” Cordelia murmured, a smile tugging at her lips. “Can you imagine this? The bitch has your child, Josh.” She didn’t take her eyes off the window as she spoke, watching Evenly kiss the boy’s cheek and smile warmly at him.

Josh, who had been speaking to the designer about a male outfit to match their supposed wedding, turned at her words with a frown. “Who are you talking about?”

Cordelia scoffed. “Who else but your former wife? Look out there. She’s holding a boy with the exact same hair as yours, and he’s at the perfect age, about the same time she claimed she miscarried a year ago. Tell me that isn’t your son.”

Josh nearly shoved the designer out of his way as he rushed to the window. He went still when he saw what she was talking about. Outside, the three of them walked toward the grocery market area, but not before he noticed the small boy.

Though his human eyes weren’t as sharp as Cordelia’s vampiric ones, he could still make out enough. The boy had dark hair like his, which showed beneath his cap and his age fit perfectly with the timing of Evenly’s fourth miscarriage, back when he’d decided to “put her in her place.”

After losing the baby that had been nearly due, she had suffered several miscarriages afterward. The doctor had said she could never carry another pregnancy to term. Her last miscarriage had happened a year ago and if it hadn’t happened, their baby would be around this exact age.

“It’s impossible. She’s not supposed to have a child,” Josh muttered.

But Cordelia, who couldn’t care less whose child it was, only saw an opportunity to use to her advantage. She was desperate to make him stop pressuring her to marry and produce an heir, and she wasn’t about to let it slip away. She gritted her teeth but spoke anyway.

“How sure are you? Do you really trust that bitch not to hide your baby? Some women can be pregnant and never show a thing. I’ve witnessed it myself in the establishment. Remember Emily, that slave? None of us even knew she was pregnant until she was suddenly in pain and then, pop!, out came the disgusting little creature with slimy skin. So think about it, Josh. What if she was already pregnant when she ran away and turned into a vampire?”

Cordelia leaned closer to the glass window, her voice dripping with conviction. “That boy might be your son for all we know. Because if he isn’t, whose child is it? And why is she holding him like that? And just so you know, the baby has light red eyes, a clear sign of a child born after she turned. Which means she was pregnant when she turned and gave birth as a vampire.”

Josh’s fingers curled into tight fists. “How dare she hide my son away from me?” he snarled through clenched teeth, believing every word Cordelia said.

All his life, what he wanted most from a woman was a son that would make him inherit his father’s wealth. His father had been clear: the child had to be legitimate, born from wedlock. To think this woman had gone behind his back, lied about miscarriages, and hidden his son from him made rage burn through his veins.

Josh didn’t even wait for Cordelia. He stormed out of the shop, shoving the door open so hard it banged against the wall. His long strides carried him across the street toward the direction they had disappeared.

Not wanting to miss a single moment of the drama, Cordelia hurried after him with an excited smile. It seemed the day wouldn’t be so terrible after all. She would have the pleasure of seeing the human wench who had stolen Rohan from her and watch Josh confront his former wife to claim his “son.” And if everything went well, she might finally be free of Josh’s tiresome obsession with having an heir with her.

Back in the part of the White Valley market where they were browsing through the groceries, Belle held the basket and carefully picked out ingredients she thought she’d like to have in the kitchen. Rav had gone to buy a sack of the heavier goods, and Evenly was holding Angel, who was busy looking around with wide, curious eyes.

“I want to get some plums and pears to make stewed fruit for Angel when we get home. These plums aren’t that fresh,” Belle was saying to Evenly as they both looked down at the fruit stall. “But—”

“EVENLY!”

An angry voice thundered behind them, loud enough to cut through the chatter of the market and made everyone stop what they were doing to look in the direction. Both Belle and Evenly spun around at once.

Belle’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the young, handsome man storming toward them, Josh Clifton. She recognized him from the royal castle during the hunting game and the time she had passed by in the hallway when he had been abusing Evenly.

And right behind him, with a smile curving her painted lips, was the one woman Belle would have preferred never to see again: Cordelia. She tried to keep up with Josh’s pace, her eyes gleaming brightly, and she looked as elegant and beautiful as Belle remembered in her dark-colored dress and wide-brimmed hat, her hair flowing loosely beneath the hat.

Belle had never thought she would ever come across Cordelia again, but seeing the woman now made her recall the night she had almost lost her life in the forest. The memory stirred a deep, raw dislike toward the woman in her heart.

Evenly, on the other hand, kept her expression calm and neutral as Josh approached with long strides. She was surprised to see him in the marketplace, but not at all affected by his presence like she once thought she would be. There was no resentment, no lingering affection, and not even the ache of loss she’d felt the last time they met. To her now, Josh was nothing more than another stranger in the crowd.

“How may I help you, Mr. Clifton,” Evenly said with a polite, practiced smile. But the smile was stiff, and her gaze flickered briefly toward the vampiress standing behind him. What did they want with her now?

Before anyone could predict what would happen next, Josh suddenly raised his hand and landed a hard slap across Evenly’s face.

“How dare you hide him from me?” Josh thundered, his voice thick with anger, barely keeping it contained. Seeing her smile at him like she’d done nothing wrong by keeping his son away from him only made his anger boil hotter. Such shameless woman!

For a brief moment, Evenly stood frozen, too stunned to react. Then the sharp sting of the slap bloomed across her cheek.

Angel, who was cradled in her arms, narrowed his small eyes at the man who had just hit his Enny. His childish face hardened, his expression darkening as he glared up at Josh. Even though he was young, Angel never took it well when anyone hurt his people.

He had once broken a kitchen knife just because it had cut his mother’s finger while she was cooking his food and he’d been watching. Another time, he’d pulled out a plant from the garden after it had nearly made Evenly trip over her dress. In his little world, anything that caused pain to his people, no matter how small, deserved to be bitten, broken, or destroyed.

Now, his heated, protective gaze fixed on the man who had dared to strike his Enny.