Married To The Mad Vampire Lord - Chapter 559

Chapter 559: Meeting again_Part 1
“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 at her.

“Is he supposed to tell me something?” Aryen arched a brow. “Did he say anything to displease you when he came this evening?”

“No. Why does it seem like you are looking forward to him displeasing me? He didn’t displease me. I was just curious about what you must have talked about.”

“Nothing much.” Aryen shrugged. “We talked about how I don’t want you getting hurt, and that if he dares hurt you after your marriage, he will answer to me. So don’t act like a mouse and hide things like some women do after marriage. I’ve heard so many stories about divorced women at the brothels. Make sure you let us know if he ever crosses the line, understood?”

He said it seriously, his eyes fixed on hers as he searched her face for any sign that something was wrong, any excuse to discourage her from this wedding. Because by God, he didn’t want his sister to ever be hurt by his friend, who once had been a womanizer.

—

Elle slept that night with doubts and fears she never did voice out even in her own mind. She tossed and turned on her bed after her brother left and her mother came in to check on her. By morning, when she finally woke up, guests had already begun arriving, and she felt close to miserable for she had slept poorly. Their moderate house was soon crowded by the people Eryx’s family had sent to bring gifts to the bride, along with the few people they had made acquaintance with in the past years.

Unlike her own family, Eryx’s came from a very wealthy background, almost on the same level as the Dagons, and his family had approved of her the moment they saw her.

Though Elle couldn’t help feeling that it was mostly because they gave their only son whatever he wanted, and because he wanted her, they were forced to accept her.

Even though her family was neither well known nor very wealthy, and especially because she didn’t have a father, many people talked about it in hushed voices, saying that she and Aryen were bastards.

No one wanted to make a so-called bastard their daughter-in-law, but for their son’s sake, they had accepted her all the same.

Eryx, she thought, feeling her palms turn slick with sweat as she swallowed hard remembering his visit yesterday evening. What did he mean by what he told her yesterday? Was he joking, or was he truly serious?

“Elle!” a familiar voice exclaimed, and Elle broke out of her thoughts and swirled around to see Rosey, surprisingly dressed up in a female attire, hurrying to meet her by the railing that overlooked the hall below.

Elle’s brown eyes brightened as she ran forward to hug her friend. “Rosey! Oh, you are finally here,” she exclaimed, squealing as her over-energetic friend spun her around in excitement.

“Rosey, don’t hurt the bride. Put her down,” Aunt Belle chided lightly as she walked in with Uncle Rohan and Finn, a few of their household helps following behind them, carrying gift boxes and trunks meant for the wedding.

Rosey finally set her down and then hugged her again, laughing. “I can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“I can’t believe it either. Lord, everything still feels unreal, Rosey. Good afternoon, Aunt Belle.” Elle moved from hugging her friend to hugging her aunt, who wrapped her arms around her tightly, holding her with warmth and affection.

“Afternoon, my lovely girl. You look radiant and glowing,” Belle commented as she stepped back to study Elle, who indeed looked too beautiful and doll-like to be real. Her red hair framed her small face, and her cat-like eyes lowered shyly as she said,

“Well, it’s all Mama’s doing. She did a lot of skincare for me,” Elle muttered. She then turned to her uncle, who was grinning and already opening his arms to her.

Smiling, she stepped into his embrace. “Uncle Rohan, I’m glad you made it too. I thought you’d be too busy.”

“I can’t be too busy for my goddaughter. I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Elle,” he said, patting her head tenderly, still unable to comprehend how the children had grown so fast that one of them was already about to get married, and that he would be the one giving her away in place of her father.

“Uncle Rohan!” Aryen came hurrying down the stairs to greet the Dagons, and soon Rohan released Elle to hug her twin. According to their uncle, none of them, male or female, was ever too grown for hugs, and he hugged Aryen just as warmly as he had hugged Elle.

“How was your journey here, sir?” Aryen asked as he pulled away from their uncle’s embrace.

“It was smooth, an advantage of being a demon,” Rohan said with a faint smile.

“If you don’t mind, Uncle, could I have a word with you? I have something important to discuss with you,” Aryen said, and Rohan, who had also been wanting to speak with the boy, nodded in agreement.

Before they walked away to talk, Aryen turned to Rosey, giving her shoulder a light greeting nudge as he said, “Hello, Rose. Long time no see.”

Rosey pursed her lips as she slapped his arm playfully. “Long time no see, indeed. You’ve forgotten about me and replaced me with my little brother. I guess our friendship no longer means anything to you anymore.”

Aryen stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly before releasing her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “I would never forget you. You were my best friend before Finn, love. We’ll talk later, I need to speak with uncle for now.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me love or Rose?!” Rosey exclaimed, but Aryen had already pulled her father away, laughing at her. He had begun calling her that when they were little because it was the only thing that ever irritated her.

The two of them left, along with Finn, who said, “Congratulations, Elle,” before following his father and friend toward the backyard.

“Where is your mother?” Aunt Belle asked, and Elle pointed upstairs. Her aunt excused herself and went to find her friend, because whenever they finally got the chance to see each other, they always caught up on everything and talked away as if no time had passed at all.

“Now it’s just us. Let’s go, I have so much I want to hear, and I want to know about your love for this Eryx,” Rosey said as she pulled Elle by the hand.

Together they went to her room, closing the door behind them and muffling the sounds of the guests moving about the house.

When they entered the room, Rosey threw herself in an unladylike manner onto Elle’s bed, clutching a pillow to herself as she said, “Now tell me, have you kissed him?”

“Rosey!” Elle exclaimed, a flush rising instantly to her cheeks, which only made Rosey scoff.

“You’re about to get married, dear friend. It’s about time you stop blushing like that,” she teased. “You’ll be sharing more than kisses after marriage, which I fully intend to hear about too.”

Of course, only her ever-so-bold and unladylike friend would say such things, Elle thought, feeling warmth spread across her face and down her neck at the thought of sharing more than just kisses after marriage.

“Yes,” she admitted softly. “He kissed me… twice.”

“Just twice?” Rosey sat up, eyes bright with curiosity. “What was it like? Did he use his tongue, or was it only his lips?” she asked, even though she herself had never been kissed before.

“Are we really going to talk about this right now, with our parents in the house?” Elle whispered, glancing at the door, and Rosey rolled her eyes dramatically.

“We’re no longer kids. Let them hear if they have time to listen. Now tell me what I don’t know. Did he hold you? Did he tell you he loved you, and all those cheesy things men always say?”

Elle knew that if she didn’t satisfy her friend’s curiosity, there was no way she was getting out of this interrogation. So, in the next hour they spent in her room, it was Rosey asking questions and Elle telling her everything, from the small details to the moments that had made her heart race.

“Do you love him?” Rosey finally asked after hearing all she could about the groom, whom she had only met once, a good-looking man, though not as handsome to her as any of her brothers or the men already present in her life.

“I do,” Elle muttered, walking toward the window. “Why else would I be marrying him if I didn’t love him?”

“Well,” Rosey said thoughtfully, “for one, it could be because he’s an explorer, and you’ve always dreamed of being that. Do you love him the way you loved my brother—”

“Rosey,” Elle cut her off sharply, turning serious eyes on her. “You know how much I don’t like talking about your brother. Don’t ruin my mood before my wedding day. Your brother is a past that’s long forgotten, and Eryx is my present and my future.”

She said it firmly, though deep in her heart Elle knew she could never love anyone the way she had once loved a person known as Angel, her hero, who had suddenly shut her out of his life and broken her heart before she even knew what heartbreak truly felt like.

The love she had felt for him was unique, probably childish, and something that could never be recreated as an adult or felt for another person. It belonged to the past, and she tried never to remember it, or him.

Rosey, seeing that she had triggered something painful, raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry,” she muttered, now fully convinced that there was no way on earth her brother, who had also moved on with Ab, or whatever her name was, and Rosey didn’t even care enough to remember it, and Elle could ever be together again. Whatever they had shared belonged firmly in the past, and it seemed it would remain there forever.

‘I thought you would be my sister-in-law someday,’ Rosey thought sadly.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Rosey asked gently. “You’re getting married, and I still can’t believe it.”

“I can’t either,” Elle confessed. “I… I am nervous, Rosey, scared, even. Do you think everything will turn out well?” she asked, her voice carrying a desperate need to be reassured that she was doing the right thing.

“Of course,” Rosey said without hesitation. “What else could possibly go wrong?”