Chapter 38.2

Max exhaled. He all but ran back to her side. Clasping her shoulders so they're face to face, he said, "Yes. You're always important for me. Everyone can go away except you. You should've known that by now."

"… I realized you never told me you love me even once. That's why I can't sleep. When I heard about Milani, I... I feel like I'm just a substitute. I wish we met sooner." She bent low. Grasping Max' arm with a pained expression.

"I don't do relationship with kids, Dolly." Max kissed her forehead, explaining softly, "My past with Milani is a point in my life where I viewed my long life as a burden and not a blessing that the heaven intended it to be. When your lifespan can last to a millennium, without someone to have and devote all of your time, it feels like a punishment. I often feed from Milani, because I want her to be like me. So she can accompany me longer. Don't misunderstand it as something that it isn't. I feed from different person everyday. I sleep with whoever that fits without feeling anything. That shows that what I feel for her is shallow."

"Maybe what I liked about her is companionship. She's a quiet girl. She won't talk to me unnecessarily. She won't bring me gifts to please me. She just sat there, take off her clothes and it's done."

"I didn't know that her brother took a liking towards me back then. The coven saved them from being annihilated by our enemy. Their parents used to work in the mansion. I didn't 'personally' picked Milani. She was sent to me because she wanted me to help raise her brother. The only option she can think of is to offer herself to me for feeding."

Max inhaled softly. Feeling the tense shoulder of his fiancee. "I recall that during those days, her brother was the one who cleans my office everyday. He never talk when I'm there that's why I hardly remember his face."

"They looked quiet the same but the built and the shape of their face is different. One day, I noticed that Milani was no longer 'Milani' herself but her brother." This is a part that is harder to confess. "I feed on him. I didn't ask him to remove his clothes. Just directly from the neck. Nothing else. I thought maybe Milani was sick that day that's why the guy pretended to be her. It wasn't difficult. They were the same height. Milani was a small woman, because of malnutrition in her younger years. Her body didn't adapt well."

"I thought that was the last time that I will encounter that ploy but the next day, it was still the same. He pretended to be Milani. I rather thought it was funny, and so I played along. Turns out the little guy thought of something along the lines of, 'He knew it's me but he still likes it. Maybe he preferred guys who used girls' clothes.'"

"He went as far as making me drink a cup of coffee with three sleeping pills. Wondering what does he want to do, I pretended to sleep. That time, I was busy hating my life that I didn't notice I was feeding from just two person for the last months. Almost everyday. That's unheard of. When I felt him took out a tiny syringe and draw blood from me, I knew what he wanted to do."

"He wants to be a vampire." Dolly added with her serene voice. The hiss in her voice becoming more pronounced. Max frowned.

He smiled grimly. "I thought it was just him. But when Milani showed up the next day, doing the same thing, I figured that maybe they're poisoned by me. It was written in the non-disclosure agreement that they had signed. They're not supposed to get my blood, or anything from me. Because it will be harmful to them."

Dolly's lips tightened.

He continued, "Constantly feeding from one human host is bad for the other party's health. The excessive saliva that had entered the human's body from the wound will make them... obsess about being bitten. The blood... they thought my blood can make them okay but it didn't happen. They injected my blood in their vein whenever they have it."

"Milani stopped coming to my room. Her brother can't be seen anywhere in the mansion. They were both... changing. Their bodies cannot be considered human anymore but their forms doesn't look like how vampire usually does. The obsession made them look deranged. The blood in their veins jumped and threatened to come out. They had green roots bulging in their skin. Their eyes surrounded by black and cheeks gaunt with the lack of nutrients. My poison ate their body from the inside."

Max turned his face away. "I let it happen. Acting like I didn't know what occured to them both. Janette discovered it one day, and so did followed the elders from the coven. She took the brunt for me. Saying I shouldn't carry the weight of their own mistakes. She was rumored to have a nasty temper. She was sanctioned for mistreating two humans. No one knows it was me. Something like that will be used against me."

"That's why I always try to appease Janette. I owed her something that shouldn't had happened. If only I stopped Milani's brother..."

Dolly exhaled shakily. "That manager... Ginny told me wrong things. She told me Milani used to be your lover and that she cheated on you that's why you chose to be alone until I came. She said... you killed those who liked Milani because you're jealou—"

"Milani and I have a complicated past. But it doesn't involve feelings like that. I don't think she feel fondness for me. I think she's been serving me without any hint of malice from the beggining. It was her brother who thought different. I can read his thoughts sometimes when I feed on him. He wants me to fall in love with him. So he can own half of the family's wealth. He told Milani that my blood can elevate the strangeness in her body but in fact, Milani only had little of it while he drank most himself. He thought by drinking my blood in turn, he will be bonded to me. He didn't know that feeding only requires a shallow bite while permanent marking needed a deep connection just like ours. He wanted to have everything, but in the end he had nothing."

"Where's Milani then?" Dolly held her waist and massage it gently with a circling motion. Max' eyes flashed with suspicion in his heart.

'Is she...'

"Her brother killed her during his psychosis. The elders had no choice but to kill him in response because he's a threat." Max closed his eyes. "The truth is, the coven had no objection of having Janette. Being a woman is hardly a thing to be condemned for. What happened to Milani and her brother had her name permanently blacklisted from the coven. In fact, her name does not belong anywhere in the registrar. A lot of vampires hated her. But she didn't care. I announced Jeffrey as an heir to secure him under my name. So he won't be faced with ridicule. He doesn't know about what happened and why is his mother treated like an outcast. He will hate me. For sure."

"I had a lot to think before telling you, Dolly. Because this means I have to tell Jeffrey as well. He only know the twisted version of the truth. I wanted to do everything to help them. But I always end up bringing problems instead. Now that you hate me, I..."

Dolly thought it was simple. But her eyes couldn't help but widen. She took a long look towards her fated mate. Someone whom she thought she knew. As if seeing him in a new perspective.


It turns out, Max isn't perfect after all.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled. Dolly tried to ignore the pain in her stomach but now that she's been enlightened, she realized that the pain has escalated to an acute sensation that almost make her kneel. "Max..."


There came a sound of a small tick. Max' mouth slack open when he lowered his eyes to Dolly's stomach. She's been wearing loose clothes all the time. He thought it was because of the cold weather but now...

Before he could smile and ask, the faint scent of blood sent a tingling sense in his scalp.

"The child..." Dolly mouthed, "The child, Max." Her eyes widened briefly before it went lifeless.

She fell like a lump piece of fabric in his arms. "Help!" Max yelled