Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 28: A bunny trying to be a wolf

"This is the kind of thing a woman, my woman, should wear around her neck and not cheap silver," he rasped thickly against the shell of her ear, his warm breath fanning her bare skin and raising gooseflesh on her nape as if he had caressed her. However, his words were the opposite of her body’s reaction.

She slowly raised her hand and touched the cold diamond pendant on the gold chain that now adorned her neck. He stared at her reflection in the mirror, his gaze not on her eyes but on the diamond she had her hand on, and continued, "Your merchant could never afford such a thing."

Then he smiled mockingly at her in the reflection when her eyes trembled.

Belle swallowed her bitter remarks, wanting to tell him that it wasn’t the price of the item that mattered but the love and intention with which it was given that made it priceless. To her, his gold and diamond necklace was cheap compared to the one he had thrown out, and she would do anything to get that one back to prove her point without having to use her words. If he thought this would be enough to replace her ring then his brain must definitely not work properly like the rumors had said!

Gold, diamonds, and all things expensive were useless to Belle. She had not grown up adoring them like her sister did. The only thing she had ever truly wanted was simple—someone who would cherish her and show her care. A small gift, given with the intention of care, meant the world to her.

She remembered a time when her father had gifted her a small wooden stool for her eleventh birthday, so she could climb and reach whatever she needed in the kitchen when helping the servants. It was nothing extravagant, but she had foolishly cherished it because it was the first thing he had ever given her since the day they all stopped treating her the way they did Eve. She wasn’t so naïve as not to know why her father had given her such a gift, just as she knew her husband had probably given her this to insult the love Jamie had for her.

Belle followed behind Rohan as he walked out of her chamber, feeling slightly uncomfortable in her dress as it wasn’t something she was used to wearing even at home or when they would go to big events like the balls. This was too extravagant that she feared she might ruin it if she was not careful with her movement as the hem was sweeping over the floor. Despite it being morning, the natural light barely penetrated the high, colorful, half-open windows of the halls. One would mistake the castle for evening with the lack of light.

They walked down the broad stone staircase that had stretched endlessly last night when Rav had led her to her chamber, but descending it was quite faster than ascending. However, it was still a treacherous ride to her as she wore heeled noble shoes. She held the front of her dress to catch up to her husband, who walked down four stairs at a time.

By the time Belle finally reached down, he was waiting for her with a smile at the mouth of the staircase, looking like walking down was nothing to him.

"Tsk, it seems little bunny is finding it hard to keep up with those short legs of hers. All you have to do is ask me to carry you and I will do that," Rohan remarked as he watched her panting slightly, a bead of sweat coasting on her chin as she came to stand beside him, fighting back the urge to bend down and rest for a moment.

Belle pursed her lips. "I do not have short legs, and I am well capable of walking," she muttered under her breath. She did not have short legs, and in fact, she was considered quite tall among the average women in Aragonia. He was the one who was too tall with long legs!

And if he thought she would ever ask him to carry her when she wanted to stay far away from him, then he was probably mistaken, not after his insulting remarks towards her Jamie and the ring he had tossed away. She had decided the less she talked or showed that his presence affected her, the better it would be for her to live in one piece with him until the day she would leave came.

But then she had forgotten: the more you avoid something, the more it comes after you. Especially when that something was a sinful devil with the face of an angel, the eyes of a demon, and a heart of an empty void, who seemed to enjoy watching her discomfort and causing her to be on the verge of losing the manners her parents had so carefully made her learn through the years!

"A bunny wanting to be a wolf when it lacks the features of the wolf. When I said you have short legs, you do because they move slower than a snail, or is it that you don’t want to walk beside your husband, hmm?" He hummed as he looked down at his pocket watch in his hand and then back at her, his eyes seemingly glistening in the dim hall. "It took you five minutes to walk down and catch up to me," he clicked his tongue when she parted her lips as if to argue his claims of her short legs and the time she took, by telling him that if he didn’t make her wear this traitorous shoes she wouldn’t have moved that slow!

She watched him retrieve his handkerchief from his pocket and lean down towards her. When he brought it to her chin, she jumped slightly but did not recoil as he dabbed it to wipe off the sweat on her chin. And perhaps it was her imagination, but she saw his gaze sway to her lips as he so unnecessarily wiped her sweat in a slow motion that made his gloved finger graze her chin and lower lip, sending her stomach into a fuzzy mess.

"It seems I do not only have to teach you how to be lustful but also how to get those short legs of yours and weak muscles stronger. We wouldn’t want you fainting when I finally decide to fuck you, would we?" He said in a small whisper as he tapped his finger to her lip, causing her to step back from him as if he’d burned her. She flushed to the root of her head at his words. Though she might not have known the meaning of that word he used, the way he said it made her know it was something totally indecent and crude.

The growling of her stomach made him click his tongue and straighten. Returning his handkerchief to his pocket, he gestured for her to come and walk beside him, and just when she was about to, Rav came hurrying towards them.

Rav came to stand before the couple, looking somewhat taken aback to see that the human bride was still here, as he had expected to find her dead body this morning, despite his lordship saying he would keep her alive. That statement alone was no different from a death sentence in his master’s vocabulary because the last person he had decided to keep alive for his amusement had killed themselves the next day by jumping off the rooftop to escape such a life.

Rav had already grown accustomed to his master’s ways because he had been with him longer than anyone else before, and whatever he did was not new to him. The master was the reason he was still alive now and in this form.

Composing himself, Rav bowed to the lady in greeting, and she returned it with her own bow, something a lady never did. Rav then turned to his master, who was regarding him impatiently.

"My lord, you have a visitor," he reported.

"Who is it?" Rohan demanded, slightly displeased, as he knew visitors were not a frequent occurrence in his castle. Apart from the quack doctor who had performed different kinds of experiments on him in the private asylum to purge him, and had it not been for the king and for the fact that the doctor had power over him, he would have killed the man the first day he was released from that hellhole of a place. He couldn’t think of any other visitor who would come to his castle now—unless it was...

"It’s Lady Cordelia, my lord. She’s seated in the dining hall as we speak, even though I tried to tell her you wouldn’t receive any visitors," Rav reported and watched as his lordship sighed and massaged his temple at the mention of his second cousin, who also happened to be one big spoiled brat and thought she could get away with anything because she had once been his childhood betrothed before the late king and queen’s death.

Though many had avoided Rohan when he was in the asylum, the moment he was released and declared sane again, they swarmed him, eager to gain his favor again. His so-called madness had caused his suspension from the throne, but that did not mean he couldn’t take it back if he so desired. His fucking parents had not lost their lives for him to be the black sheep of the land.

He wasn’t the one sitting on the throne, but he was no less than a king when it came to wealth and power. Many people cared little for one’s reputation as long as they were rich and influential, and Cordelia Garth and her family had always been power-hungry. He would admit that he and Cordelia had much in common, which was why he entertained her presence in his castle—both of them were people who hid behind the facade of what they were not.

Belle couldn’t help but wonder who this Lady Cordelia was as she watched her husband massage his temple at the mention of her. Then he said to Rav, "Let her be. She must be here to see my wife." He then turned to Belle and said, "Shall we go join our guest in the dining hall?" He took her hand in his without waiting for her reply and walked down a few open dim halls and twisted corners before they arrived at the dining hall, where Belle was taken aback to see that it was brighter than the rest of the halls, as the windows were opened and the curtains were drawn.

Before her eyes could settle on the dining table where an array of covered food lay, she heard the soft voice of a woman.

"Oh, cousin Rohan! It’s so nice to see you again!"

Drawing her eyes to the voice, she saw a woman running to her husband’s side, in the process nudging Belle’s shoulder and causing her to almost fall back, but she balanced herself.