Married To The Mad Vampire Lord - Chapter 562

Chapter 562: “Careful.”
Max cursed under his breath and got to his feet, bending to help her stand again. When she rose, the front of her dress was wet from laying on the grass where she had vomited. She turned her angry eyes on him and raised her hand as if to slap him, but then stopped, clenching her fingers and lowering her hand. She looked away from him and frantically wiped at her eyes with the heels of her palms, hiding her tears.

“Y-you just have to g-go on and r-ruin my day all ov-over again. Look, I’m covered in vo-vomit!” she sobbed, embarrassed that she had been foolish enough to let her weight rest on him and then fall like that in front of him when he let go.

“H-ho-how am I to walk into the house with so many guests?” She covered her face with her palms, sobbing, not only from the embarrassment of herself, but from everything that had happened so far: her uncertainty, her fears, and the unknown future awaiting her after marrying Eryx. And how she was to tell her family that Eryx planned to take her away from the country!

Thinking about everything only made her cry even more. She was scared, by God, she was terrified.

Max, who even in the past had hated to see her cry, hated it even now. You are so stupid, Max, how could you let her fall? he chided himself as she quickly bowed his head in apology. “I am sorry. Forgive me.”

“Just go away,” she cried behind her hands.

She had always told him to go away whenever she was crying in the past, and she had never truly meant those words. He straightened up, looking at her trembling shoulders as she turned away from him.

Instead of leaving, he wordlessly began to fix her disordered hair, removing dirt from it, then bent down to adjust her dress, wiping away the vomit with his handkerchief, and picking up her shoes that had been flung aside during her fall. He looked up at her; her sobs had stopped, but her face was still buried in her hands in shame.

Not wanting to cause her to fall again, he said, “Put your hands on my shoulders, Red, so I can put your shoe back.” Saying that, he wrapped his hand around her ankle, and as if afraid of falling, she quickly placed her hands on his shoulders for support, keeping her face firmly averted.

She had very small feet, as white as snow and as smooth as silk. His hands looked overwhelmingly large around her ankle, one hand holding her ankle and the other the shoe. Slowly, he slipped the shoe back on with the care one would give to a treasured item, then set her foot down and adjusted her dress to cover her bare leg.

When he was done, he stood and swiftly removed his coat. Without giving her a chance to refuse, he draped it over her shoulders. Just as he had noticed her small feet, he now noticed how petite she was, and how his coat almost swallowed her. He pulled the front over her, and she finally looked at him with wide, swollen eyes as he buttoned the middle button to secure it around her.

“You can walk in with no one noticing your dirty dress. I am sorry for letting go,” he apologized again, his eyes locked on hers. And I am sorry for shutting you out, for not replying to your letters, for not being there to comfort you or ease the pains you told me about in your letters. I am sorry for the man I have become, Red.

Elle blinked, breaking the moment, as she stepped back, subconsciously holding his warm coat around her. “It’s nothing. Thank you…” she muttered, then added, “I should go inside. Aunt Belle must be waiting for me.” She spoke, yet she did not move to leave.

“I should greet Mama. Where is she?” he asked.

“In my room…” Elle replied, feeling awkward about everything. She couldn’t believe she had almost slapped him. Everyone used to say she had the temper of her mother, and she tried to control it as much as possible, especially now, when her emotions felt too close to the surface.

He nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way. I will finally get to see your room after all, Max thought, eager to see if it looked as lovely as she had described in her letters. This would be his last memory of her; he might as well see the room before he wiped her from his mind and memories.

Being born a strong demon who could manipulate memories, it would not be hard for him to erase what he did not want to keep.

Elle led the way, and feeling him walking closely behind her only heightened her awareness. His scent clung to her from the warm coat, reminiscent of when he used to hold her as a girl.

When they reached the door, he quickly stepped forward to open it for her and moved aside for her to enter. Elle flushed slightly and muttered her thanks as she walked ahead. She wished he weren’t following so closely.

When they stepped into the main hall, the guests who had slept in the house could be seen hurrying around to get ready, paying no attention to her. Most of the women, however, turned to look at Angel, whispering, gawking, and tapping one another to point him out. He was undeniably handsome, tall, and broad, broader even than Uncle Rohan. Seeing them flush and stare at him, Elle felt a stab of jealousy, wishing she had the right to slip her arm through his and ward off any unwanted attention from her Angel.

She did not like how they were looking at him, but then she reminded herself that she had no claim whatsoever over him. He was a bachelor and she was getting married to someone else.

When they began to climb the steps, she almost lost her balance again, but his hand was quick to rest on the small of her back. “Careful,” he whispered, his deep voice too close to her ear, sending goosebumps rising along the back of her neck and down her spine.

She immediately moved away and resumed walking forward, putting deliberate distance between them, and thankfully, before they reached the top of the stairs, Rosey came dashing down to save her from the company of the man she was far too aware of and did not want to be alone with.

“Oh, there she is! Where have you, oh, Angel!” Rosey exclaimed, stopping short when she saw her brother. “I didn’t know you two were together.”

“We weren’t together,” Elle said quickly.

“I met her outside,” Max added, their voices overlapping and causing Rosey to wiggle her brows as if she didn’t believe them, noticing the coat around her friend.

“Where is Mama and Enny?” Angel asked, before his sister could make a big deal out of something that was nothing at all. He knew Rosey had absolutely no sense when it came to restraint and could very easily tell everyone that he had been with the bride in private. The very last thing he wanted was to ruin her reputation or give anyone reason to whisper about her on her wedding day.

Rosey pointed to a door behind her. “Inside. Come on, Elle. I was going to look for you anyway. The carriage will be arriving anytime soon, and you should be dressed.” She came down and put her arm around her friend, while her brother gave a polite bow before walking ahead to greet his mother and aunt.

“What did you two talk about outside?” Rosey asked in a whisper.

Elle, who was watching Angel’s retreating back and feeling something inside her heart twist painfully because he was no longer her Angel, looked away and replied,

“Nothing. I need you to help me bathe again; I fell and smell like grass and vomit.” She wanted to bathe because she hated the lingering sensations of his arms around her and the heat of his body that reminded her achingly of what they once were. If she were to be married, she wanted to do it without carrying any feelings of the past.

—

A/N

I’ve been feeling so weak for the past few days, and I made the mistake of ignoring what my body was telling me until I literally passed out yesterday. I’m currently under medication, and I feel so sick that I can’t even eat.

I haven’t been this sick in a long time, but I guess everyone has their days. My fever was so intense this morning that I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to upload anything. But there’s this feeling of guilt that sits with me whenever I think about not updating, knowing you’re all expecting a chapter.

So for now, please make do with just one chapter until I feel well again. I might feel better tomorrow and be able to upload two, who knows, but right now, I can barely feel my own head from how badly it’s throbbing.

Thank you so much for understanding.