Chapter 364: The little demon and the soul_Part 1
Lady Louisiana’s wrist throbbed with excruciating pain, and her dignity was all that kept her standing tall. Even as she realized her daughter had abandoned her in her moment of need, she forced herself to maintain her poise. She swallowed her pain down and leveled a cold glare at the vampiress, who, to her growing unease, had suddenly begun to smile.
"Do you know what I find funny, Lady Louisiana?" Evenly asked, her voice cool, but she didn’t give the woman the chance to reply before continuing. "If that daughter of yours had been Belle, she would never have run and left you behind at the first glimpse of threat to her life. She would have done everything in her power to help you without a thought for herself. That’s what drew me to your elder daughter. And if I were you, I would return to whatever you were doing until she is well enough for a visit from you. Don’t force me to bite you, I won’t hesitate."
With that, she released Lady Louisiana’s wrist.
Lady Louisiana staggered back a step, hugging her agonizing wrist against her chest as she ground her teeth, both from the pain and from her frustration at Eve’s cowardice. But then she quickly soothed herself with the thought that Eve was still young, still delicate, and had only been protecting herself, which was not entirely wrong. Someone as fragile as her Eve should never be anywhere near a vampire woman like this one in front of her.
As much as Lady Louisiana had been determined to speak to Belle today, especially with the ball tomorrow, where she was expected to attend and clear up their reputation, she knew better than to risk her blood or even her hand by pushing her way past a vampire with fangs bared.
She straightened her spine and raised her chin with practiced authority, refusing to show weakness. "Since you said she is not well and sleeping, I will let her rest. But the moment she wakes up, tell her to come and see me immediately," she said sternly.
Evenly inclined her head in acknowledgment, and Lady Louisiana gave her one last glare before huffing and turning sharply on her heel. The clicking of her shoes faded down the hall, and only then did Evenly allow herself to sigh in relief before slipping back into the room.
Inside, everyone was still where they had been when she left, except Angel, who had moved to his father’s side from the chair. The little boy stood with the support of Rohan’s leg, peering up at the imposter on the bed with wide, conflicted eyes.
"They’re gone," Evenly reported as she made her way over to Angel. "I don’t think she’ll return anytime soon." She reached out, intending to scoop him into her arms, though her head was full of questions she burned to ask. Still, she knew this was not the moment. The Duke’s murderous expression told her plainly that her questions would have to wait, she would ask Rav when things settled.
Rohan still had his hand clamped over the imposter’s mouth, but once he was certain Lady Louisiana was far away, he finally let go. Turning toward his son, who was stubbornly swatting away Evenly’s hands and tugging at his trousers for attention, he said firmly, "I’ll hold him."
Evenly nodded and stepped aside as Rohan bent down to lift Angel into his arms. Once the boy was high enough to look properly at the imposter, his little eyes darkened.
"Ma-mah..." he muttered, pointing a tiny finger toward the woman smirking on the bed.
"She’s not your mama, Angel," Rohan said coldly, his gaze locking on the soul-possessed body with a deadly stare.
"Ma-mah..." Angel repeated stubbornly, ignoring his father’s words. He stretched his small hand out toward the woman, trying to wriggle free from Rohan’s hold, desperate to reach her.
"You see?" Norah cooed with a smirk. "Even the boy calls me his mama and wants me. The sooner you accept it yourself, the better it will be for all of us. I am willing to be your wife, trust me. I can be a mother as well. I have her, everything she has, and you won’t even miss her, because I am her now."
She looked from the vampire child to the cold, handsome man holding him. If only he had been some blind fool, unable to tell the difference between his wife and another, everything would have been easy. When she had taken the stupid living girl’s body, she hadn’t known the woman was married or that she had a child. She had thought she was claiming the body of some random, poor girl she could use to return to her kingdom and reclaim her title as princess. By telling them her soul had entered another body, she believed her family, who doted on her, would have believed her and embraced her.
Her shock at waking up in the arms of a handsome, naked man had been so great she had almost screamed "pervert!"—until she remembered it wasn’t truly her body.
At first, Norah had planned to flee while the man was still asleep. Her first thought was that the girl she had possessed must be a whore in this small room, but then she had seen the trunk filled with fine things, and her steps faltered. A peek into the hallway had revealed a grand, beautiful house. Wealth. Comfort.
She wasn’t a whore after all. She must be a mistress to a wealthy man, one who put her in a less fancy room than the main house. That had been Norah’s conclusion at first.
Norah had thought she could play it smart. She could play it cool and live her life here as someone’s mistress. She was clever enough to adapt. But who would have thought that man was not only her husband but also cleverer than she had expected?
He had caught on to the difference so fast that she hadn’t at first realized he was trapping her in her pretense. When he brought two vampires she had believed were Lady Louisiana and Mr. Griffin, whoever those people were, he had forced her to expose herself!
Now, with her wrists tied to the bed, her escape plan had crumbled. Yet still, if she could sway him with his son, perhaps she had a chance of actually keeping this body. After all, no father would want his boy to grow up without a mother in his life. Especially when she could tell this father seemed to like his son.
"You have nothing of hers but her body," Rohan replied icily, tightening his hold around Angel as the boy squirmed to get down to the bed. "I fell in love with her soul and her heart. You don’t have either of those."
Norah let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Well, unfortunately for you, her soul is a lost cause. There’s nothing you can do to bring her back while I am here. And there’s nothing you can do to send me back into that land."