Married To The Mad Vampire Lord - Chapter 558

Chapter 558: Protective brother_Part 2
“It’s about time. I miss Rosey,” Elle beamed happily, because Rosey was the only friend she had, someone she could talk to about anything, and she really needed a friend’s advice now more than ever.

Elle was beaming at the thought of her best friend and second family coming over tomorrow when she heard her mother ask,

“Have you seen your brother this evening? I told him to come back home before sunset. I should speak to your Uncle Rohan when he comes; he and Finn need a little lesson for how much they stay out late.”

Elle, who was aware of where her brother was and where he often went with Finn, began to part her lips to speak, as Rosey had once told her about it, when footsteps echoed down the corridor. The door opened, and Aryen walked in, grinning as if he already knew his mother was asking about him and complaining.

Apart from having their mother’s eye shape and mouth, which made it crystal clear that he was Elle’s twin, he looked strikingly like their father, with his face structure and dimples, dimples he always made sure to show whenever he smiled. He was tall and lean-muscled, and he wore his silky ebony hair grown to shoulder length, which he sometimes braided.

Aryen was a woman’s man, for he was too good-looking; wherever he went, he turned heads and drew attention. He dressed the part of a prince charming at all times and took great care to maintain his appearance.

Right now, knowing his mother was asking about him, he played it cool by greeting, “Good evening, lovely ladies. Oh, Mama, you’re glowing even more than the bride-to-be herself.” He closed the door behind him and stepped forward to hug his mother, whose eyes were narrowed at him in suspicion, though she still hugged him back.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me, son. You didn’t come back for dinner like you promised. Where are you coming from?” she asked. Though her son was a responsible adult who focused on his work as a supervisor at the Port, where goods were shipped from land to land, his job ended by eight and didn’t require him to be there constantly. Where he went at night and how he spent his free time remained a mystery to her, as he was often gone with friends.

“Do you have to ask him, mama? He’s probably coming from wherever he frequents,” Elle muttered from where she was sitting. Aryen quickly shot her a pleading look, silently begging her not to reveal where he often went or where he was coming from.

“And where is that?” Evenly asked, pulling back slightly to look at her son.

“Mama, you forgot the oil you’re extracting on the stove for my hair,” Elle exclaimed.

Evenly’s eyes widened in realization, and she hurried out of the room at once, saying they would have this conversation later.

When the door closed behind her, Aryen let out a small breath and said, “Thanks.” Then he patted her head lightly before moving away and sitting on Elle’s bed. He lay down on his back, staring up at the ceiling, his hands folded over his flat stomach as if trying to calm himself.

“That’s a first, you thanking me instead of annoying me,” Elle remarked as she moved to sit beside him.

“You’re getting married and leaving home, so of course it’s only natural that I show you some kindness,” Aryen replied matter-of-factly. “And you deserve my thanks for not telling on me. I would’ve been grounded and kept away from going out at night.”

Aryen knew his sister must have been told by Rosey that he visited the brothel often, and he wasn’t about to correct her. It was better that she thought of him as a man who wasted his time in places like that than for her to know the real reasons he went there. If his mother ever got wind of him going to such places, he wouldn’t be able to hide the truth behind it, and he might end up revealing things he wasn’t supposed to reveal at all.

Aryen let out a contented sigh at the thought that his mother hadn’t found out and that his sister hadn’t told on him. When he noticed her watching him, he reached out and pulled her bed pillow closer, propping it under his head to make himself comfortable. Then he said lightly, “Why does your room always smell nice, and why is your bed so soft? I can get used to sleeping here.”

“Because I keep everything clean, unlike you. Where are you coming from tonight?” Elle asked. “I know Finn went home since morning, and you couldn’t have gone to the brothel today without him.”

“None of your business, mouse,” Aryen replied dryly. Then after a moment, he peeked at her through his lashes to see if his words had any effect on her, or if they hurt her in any way.

Many might wonder why he teased his twin sister and constantly got on her nerves, but he did it because he never wanted her to feel suffocated by being treated like a fragile bird in a cage. By God, he couldn’t imagine himself being stuck at home all day, and he never wanted that kind of life for her either.

Though he rarely showed it or openly expressed it, Elle was more than important to him. He loved his twin sister and cared about her far more than he ever let on.

When he noticed her duck her head at his curt reply, staring down at her hands, Aryen finally spoke again. “I was with Eryx.”

Her head came up with surprising speed. “Does he also go to the brothel with you?” Elle asked, her breath catching as she waited for his answer.

Aryen laughed. “I’d have killed him. No, he doesn’t anymore. Since the day he admitted to loving my sister is the day he stopped being allowed to see any other woman’s body. Rest assured, your dear groom has eyes on him everywhere and people will tell me if he went behind my back, and he wouldn’t dare do anything to hurt you.”

He said it nonchalantly, but Elle understood that his words came from how deeply he cared for her, and she smiled.

“Thank you,” she said.

He gave her a sideways glare. “For what?” Aryen asked.

“For looking out for me.”

Aryen scoffed. “Quit imagining things, sister. I’m only keeping an eye on him so he’ll hurry up and marry you, and your lovely scented room will be all mine.”

“I don’t mind. You can have my room after I’m gone.” She lay down beside him on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “My husband’s house will be much better than this. You can have everything of mine.”

“You talk as if you’ll never come back home to visit,” Aryen said. “It’s not like he’s taking you out of town, Elle. I bet you’ll still spend your days here after Eryx goes off exploring and leaves you alone in his house.”

Elle pursed her lips. “I plan to go with him. He promised to take me to different places, wherever he goes.”

“Does mama know about that?” Aryen turned to look at her with a frown. “You know she only approved of this wedding because Eryx and his family live in the same town as us.”

“No, she doesn’t. I am as healthy as you are now, so I can travel to places with no harsh air and no strong winters. So you’d better start missing me, dear brother, because I won’t be around to cover up for you whenever you sneak out. And I will tell mama that I don’t want to stay home all day after the wedding and that I want to be wherever my husband is.”

Aryen stared at his sister’s side profile. With how petite she was, no one would ever guess she was his twin, and many mistook her for his younger sister. “I am not good at this,” he said quietly, “but if ever Eryx says or does anything to hurt you, Elle, I am only a call away. I wish papa was here.”

Saying that, Aryen got up from the bed and walked to his sister’s drawer, where he knew she kept their father’s portrait.

He brought it out and ran his fingers over the smiling face of the man he had never met in person, feeling a sting in his heart, because just like their mother, Aryen still hoped and wished for their father’s return.

Unlike his sister, he knew a little about what had happened to him, from Finn, who had overheard his parents talking about it. And because the boy couldn’t keep things from him, Finn had told him about their father being rogue and about his brother’s hope to cure him.

Finn had told him that their father was being kept somewhere, though even he didn’t know where. Aryen had tried to ask Uncle Rohan, but all he got in answer about their father’s whereabouts was that he had to be patient.

If their father were here, Aryen wouldn’t be feeling this much responsibility to make certain his sister didn’t end up with the wrong person.

“I wonder if he would have approved of Eryx. If you didn’t like him so much, Elle, I wouldn’t have approved of this wedding. Hell, Eryx was a—”

“I don’t want to hear about what he was. All I know is that I want to marry him, Aryen. Whatever he must have done was before he met me, and you said he doesn’t go to the brothel anymore,” Elle said quickly as she came to stand beside her brother, looking down at their father’s portrait with him.

“That’s the problem. I know too much about who he used to be, and it makes me doubt him and his intentions,” Aryen said. “You are my sister, and the last thing I want is to be the reason you married someone who will hurt you. I don’t care if Eryx is my friend. You are my sister, and you will always come first before an outsider.”

Aryen, who was never earnest nor serious with his sister, looked just that now as he glanced at her beside him, where her head barely reached his shoulder.

“He won’t hurt me,” she muttered. “Did he tell you anything when you met him today?” Elle asked, peeking up at her twin as he stared down at her.