A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 157: I Like Your Scars...

Chapter 157: I Like Your Scars...

Natasha shouted at him, stopping him.

"I love you, Ryan, and that is the truth!

"I know that I messed up, and you will probably never forgive me for it, but I do really love you. I do!"

Ryan glanced over at her.

"Why would I believe you? You love lying to get what you want, and this could probably be a lie as well to make me forgive you and go all soft on you."

Natasha furiously shook her head at him. "No, no. I swear, I am not lying."

She crawled toward him and grabbed his leg.

"I’m sorry, Ryan. I’m sorry for what I did. But please don’t hate me for this, I beg you. We’ve been together for years now, please do not judge me like this because of this one incident," she pleaded, her tears falling nonstop.

Ryan gazed at her. His anger was not subsiding, so he pushed her off and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

With Lancelot following, they left to return to his room.

Natasha, who was on the floor in tears, lifted her hand to touch her bloody nose. Never for once had Ryan raised his hand on her.

For him to do this this time around, he must really be infuriated with her. He must probably even hate her at that moment.

What should I do? She began to ponder. Losing Ryan was something she could never afford. She would have to make him understand, one way or another.

—-

It was already midnight, and Draven, who was in the room with Avelina, sat on the bed next to her.

Avelina was tightly holding onto his hand while lying on the bed, under the duvet.

"Draven, you will not leave, right?" she asked.

Draven shook his head at her. "No, I will not."

"Promise?" Avelina brought out her pinky.

Draven, who could not understand why she had her pinky out, blinked his eyes. "What do I do?"

Avelina smiled at the realization that he had no idea what a pinky promise was. She grabbed his hand, opened his pinky, and intermeshed it with hers.

"Draven, this is called a pinky promise," she said.

"A pinky promise?" Draven was a bit fascinated.

Avelina nodded.

"When we make promises, we interlock our pinky fingers like this, and the promise is stronger and more reassuring."

"Really?" Draven glanced at their pinky fingers, which were interlocked, and half smiled. "So if you make a promise to me or if I make one to you, we pinky cross, like this?" he queried.

Avelina cackled softly as she nodded at him. "Yes, we do."

"Has no one ever made a pinky promise with you before?"

"No." Draven shook his head. "I never even knew what that was until now. You are the first to ever do that with me." His smile was gentle. His eyes were sparkling a bit, and Avelina could not help but wonder if he was happy that he had learned something new.

Sometimes, he was like a lost kitten to her. Someone she craves to pet so much, but it was always the opposite. He was the one who always petted her.

I have never met someone like you before... She sighed inwardly before smiling with her soft gaze fixed on him.

"I like this," Draven said to her while smiling.

Avelina raised her brows, curious. "Why?"

"You said pinky promises are more reassuring. That means if you made a pinky promise with me, I would be rest assured you would never break it, right? I do not think I am wrong about this, or am I?" Draven probed.

Avelina shook her head at him and extended her hand to cup his cheek. It looked as though she wanted to say something.

Draven was staring at her, wanting to hear her out, but as though having changed her mind, Avelina looked away and turned to lie on her side.

Draven fluttered his eyes, confused. Why had her mood suddenly changed? Did he say something wrong?

"Avelina..." he called, concerned.

"Hmm?" Avelina responded without looking at him.

Draven tilted his head to glimpse her face. "Why has your mood suddenly changed? Did I say something you did not like?"

"No." Avelina shook her head.

"Then...why?" Draven inquired. "I am quite confused."

"Nothing. I am just tired, do not worry," Avelina clarified, unwilling to spare him a glance.

Draven rubbed his temple. He could feel that she was not entirely honest with him, yet he could not seem to figure out what the problem was. She has been this way recently. Her mood switches all of a sudden, as though he has said or done something wrong. But when he asked what the problem was, she was never willing to tell him.

If he was good at understanding people’s emotions like a normal person should, would he have known and understood what was going on? He pondered, suddenly hating the fact that he had this problem.

No matter how hard he tried or forced himself, he just could not figure out or understand. If only he was smart at this too.

He deeply exhaled and said, "I shall let you be then. Sleep well, Avelina."

Draven stood up to walk over to the sofa, but Avelina gripped the back of his shirt, stopping him.

"You said you would stay with me. We just made a pinky promise." Her face was still turned to the other side.

Draven glanced over at her. "I am not leaving. I just want to sit over there on the sofa."

"Stay on the bed with me. Be close to me," Avelina grumbled.

Draven blinked his eyes, bewildered.

I thought she wanted me to leave her alone... He scratched his head.

He took a deep breath and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Hold my hand," Avelina mumbled.

"Oh..." Draven was quite surprised, but he did not mind. He grabbed her hand and fixed his gaze on it.

To kill the boredom he felt, he began to play with her fingers, caressing and massaging her knuckles.

Due to the relief she felt from the gesture, Avelina eventually fell asleep with her lips curved into a gentle smile.

"Your hands are very pretty." Draven stared intently at it. "I like your scars..." He smiled, finding them quite attractive. But at the same time, he wondered how much she had hurt in the slave house to have those scars on her hands.

Avelina could not respond to him, for she had slept. As though it were instinctive, Draven softly kissed the back of her hand.