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n“Are you alright?” she asked, taking him by surprise, “I mean, you got...stabbed,” Heidi moved her hand towards her stomach to emphasize her words who was being stared by the Lord.

n“I am,” he replied, giving her that gentle smile which he gave others mostly.

n“Who was the man though?” she asked curious.

n“Just a random visitor, you don’t have to concern with it. Men like that keep coming visiting me often, it makes my life interesting,” he stated. Seeing her open her mouth to say something and close, he said, “You don’t have to hold back yourself with words. Speak.”

n“I thought you were a clean book with the people around you. I find it rather strange that anyone would dislike you,” Heidi voiced out her thoughts. Even though she knew the man had a one eighty degree character which changed regularly from one side to another, the man was well known to be kind and gentle. Like the daily newsletters used to speak about he, he was the white prince of the four empires. Weren’t they going a little too far by refering him to an angelic man?

n“Ah, I agree myself. I am a good man with good intentions. But you see, sometimes people just don’t like you even if you have good intentions,” he shrugged his shoulders in disappointment. Nicholas saw her looking at him with those judgy looking eyes and changed the subject, “It is past eleven. Unable to sleep?” he asked her.

n“Hmm,” she nodded her head in response. After a few seconds of silence that passed, she asked, “Did you need anything, Lord Nicholas?”

n“Not particularly. It is hard to talk to you with Warren always taking up your entire time. I thought this was an opportune time, especially when you were playing hide and seek a few moments ago,” hearing this Heidi lowered her eyes, blood creeping up towards her cheek. She wasn’t any passing woman but a woman who would be marrying his cousin. Did he perhaps have a temporary memory loss about it after getting stabbed?

n“Ahem, that I was-” she stopped when the lord stood straight and began stalking towards her.

n“Are you feeling aware of my presence?”

n“Why would I, milord. I don’t think I have done anything wrong to be scared,” she asked more than startled with his behavior, “And of course I will spending my time with Warren because I will be marrying him.”

n“You do have a point,” he agreed but didn’t stop walking until he reached where she was.

n“W-what are you doing?” she asked him. Instinctively, she closed her eyes when his hand tried to reach her face.

n“Why stutter, darling?” he asked lowering his voice in a hushed tone making her shiver as he spoke above her. Heidi could smell the rustic smell of blood coming from his clothes and she opened her eyes, to meet his dark red eyes.

nHer fiance was a good looking man with a quiet and stable demeanor but this one right in front of her, Heidi thought to herself with a pause as they continued to gaze at each other under the moonlight and silence of the breeze. This man was far from stable, he was the kind to raise havoc.

nThe moonlight cast a shadow on his features, the smooth sharp jaw which was set firmly with those sinful lips that had weaved lies along with flattery. His brown hair looked black in the night now, disheveled and unkempt that needed fingers to be run through. As if he had read her mind she saw him drag his hand over his hair which was pulled back to only fall forward on his forehead. She felt the strings in her chest involuntarily tug and she realized she had to snap back before something forbidden took place in her mind.

n“I...think I will go sleep now,” she murmured looking away from him whilst having her heart begin to skip a beat with every second that passed. Luckily the lord didn’t tease her anymore and wished her a night, leaving her to sleep.

nWhen Heidi was under the covers of her bed, the doors and windows tightly shut after what Nicholas had said, she felt herself bury into the bed further at the thoughts that were circling her mind.

n“I hate him!” came the muffled voice under the blanket.

nWith every possible opportunity he would tease her, testing her frizzled nerves over and over until she stood dumb in front of him. Had he decided to make her life hell? It was usually the mother-in-law a girl worried about but in her case it was her fiances cousin, the lord himself she had to deal with. The strings in her chest continued to pull like the puppeteer trying to pull the strings of the doll. She patted her chest softly, telling herself that she was only started and surprised with everything. Half of the women in the empire felt it that way, there was nothing wrong with it. This was a normal reaction, she said to herself, a very normal healthy reaction because the lord was a handsome man.

nAs days passed by, she received word from Warren that his mother had invited them home due to which they headed to to the Lawson’s mansion which was an hour’s distance from the Lord’s mansion. At first Heidi had thought it was only them but after seeing a couple of vampire females sitting in the drawing room she realized they had company.

nWarren’s mother, Venetia Lawson was a pure blooded vampire. As her human husband had passed away, she had taken over the entire Lawson’s business under her hands. In appearance she didn’t look like she would have a son who was at a marriageable age. Her frame lean with a medium height. Her thin eyebrows were raised naturally so high making Heidi wary of the woman. Having nothing to do, Warren went out leaving her with his mother. Heidi was glad that she had taken classes from the butler as there were too many etiquette’s when it came to being part of the social class. Sitting straight as a pole she plastered a smile on her face, speaking to each of them politely and when they began discussing about things she had no idea about, it made her feel that she had been living in a well.

n“Did you hear about the massacre that took place in the north?” one of the women spoke in a hushed tone.

n“It was to happen,” another commented in a matter of fact tone, “After slaughtering half of the town which was a home to hundreds of vampire family, what were they expecting.”

n“I can’t say I don’t agree with it. The humans have been stupid to wage a war,” the first one who brought up the topic added before realizing there was a human amongst them.

n“Have you been to the Eastern ball before, dear?” one of Venetia’s friends who looked older to the rest of the lot asked, who was sitting across her from the small table set in the middle. She shook her head to it, it was the first time she had heard about it. Deciding to reply diplomatically, she answered,

n“I am sorry, I haven’t. My parents have sheltered me all these years to let me experience such things.”

n“Your parents must not trust you. What did you do?” came the sudden unexpected jab of words which she hadn’t expected from the woman sitting next to her.

n“What?” Heidi asked taken aback.

n“I mean seriously you must have done something for them to put you on a tight leash-”

n“Excuse me. Just because a parent doesn’t let a child out doesn’t have anything do with, if the child has done a mistake or not.”

n“Please,” the woman laughed, “Being the older ones here, I can vouch as to what you might have done already.”

n“Lady Blois you must h-”

n“Heidi,” warned Venetia sternly from her seat.

n“But she-”

n“That’s enough, Heidi. Could you please go fetch the maid from the kitchen,” Lady Venetia politely asked Heidi. Gritting her teeth, Heidi stood up to go fetch the maid.

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