The Heart Of A Vampire

chapter thirty eight: half

She stared up at him angrily.

"I'm overreacting now? You have nerve, saying something like that to me of all people."

Vlads eyes narrowed, and suddenly, his tone became far colder. Crueler.

"Be silent."

Begrudgingly obeying, her mouth hardened into one flat line. Her eyes betrayed her continuous anger though she didn't speak.

"Much better," he murmured.

"Leave my castle tonight. You've irked me and I no longer wish to see nor speak to you, Victoria."

She nodded, glaring up at him. "Fine."

With that, Vlad payed her no further heed and left, leaving her alone in the clearing. She watched him disappear into the forest.

And then she got back to work.

But with every dish she packed back into her bag she felt herself growing even more angry.  Vlad had been so warm towards her for the entirety of her stay at his castle, but it was like the moment Evangeline entered the picture, all of his attention was on her.

And it hurt.

More than Victoria would have admitted, at least.

To be shoved aside by someone she thought cared about her, then coldly rejected. That sadness had began turning into anger.

Anger aimed towards Evangeline, towards Vlad, towards herself.

But especially towards Evangeline. Evangeline, who had driven that wedge between them. Evangeline, who Vlad couldn't take his eyes off of whenever she was around.

It was all her fault.

And slowly, Victoria began to develop a plan.

TIMESKIP: THE NEXT DAY

Evangeline had seen to it that her house was spotless, though that wasn't difficult as the cottage was already clean enough. She was a tidy woman.

She couldn't help but feel nervous, wondering when Vlad would arrive. He had never specified, and now she couldn't help but feel on edge.

Soon enough, she ended up deciding to go outside and get some fresh air to make herself feel better. She stood in front of her home, gazing off into the distance until she could make out someone's figure approaching.

It was Vlad.

But suddenly, he stopped. Right in the middle of his path, he paused before turning on his heel and starting to walk back to his castle:

Evangeline's face furrowed into an expression of confusion. Why was he leaving? What had made him change his mind about coming? Was something wrong?

She called out to him- he was close enough to hear her, she assumed, and found herself correct when he paused once more, an indication that he had heard her words.

Vlads mind was racing. The moment that he had seen her, it felt as though he had been transported back to the forest with Victoria.

The accusations she had made rang in his ears.

"Ogling her"

"Rejecting me because of her"

He felt disgusted by himself. Not by Evangeline, no, and not even by Victoria. But by himself. She wouldn't have made those accusations for no reason- there had to have been reasoning.

And he knew she was right. In some regards, at least. He knew he hadn't rejected her for Evangeline, that he certainly didn't see her romantically, but that didn't take away from the validity of other claims of hers.

Sure, he had been paying extra attention to her. Perhaps he'd softened his voice around her. Been a bit sweeter to her than him. But that was only because he had just rejected her- he knew he couldn't have treated her kindly after doing so, not wanting her to think he was leading her on.

That was it. Yes. That and nothing more.