A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 205: I Don’t Know, Ryan!

Chapter 205: I Don’t Know, Ryan!

Valentine’s eyes opened, and he glanced over with the edge of his eyes. His gaze met Olives’, and he immediately averted his stare, not willing to linger any longer.

Juliette’s voice soared higher, her vocal range effortlessly navigating the intricacies of the song.

Valentine’s fingers danced across the keys—the music almost seemed to come to an end.

The other patrons at nearby tables were equally entranced—their conversations now reduced to whispers. Eyes gleamed with admiration, heads tilted in appreciation, and hearts quickened with each passing second.

Lost in the moment, time seemed to still pass as the singer and the vampire pianist brought their performance to a breathtaking end. The final note hung in the air, lingering for a heartbeat, before applause erupted from the guests, filling the room with resounding appreciation.

Everyone except Olive was clapping. Olive could see Valentine stand up and walk away from the stage through the back. He wanted to hurry after him, but he knew he could not do that, so he sat in the restaurant waiting. He hoped Valentine would come to see him, and they could talk about everything. He needed to explain himself.

Suddenly, he was no longer interested in the food that he had ordered. He had completely lost his appetite.

A minute, close to thirty minutes, passed by, and Olive was still waiting. Even though he felt that Valentine must have already left, he wanted to hope that he was still there—after all, he was not completely sure if he had left or not.

A waitress approached him at the table.

"Monsieur." The lady smiled.

Olive lifted his head to look at her. He paid her for the meal he ordered and stood up to leave, but just to be sure, he inquired the waitress, "Mademoiselle, the man who played the piano, is he perhaps still around or has he left?"

"Oh, I’m sorry, monsieur, but he left twenty minutes ago," the waitress replied.

A feeling of disappointment washed over Olive, and he slowly nodded his head. "Oh...I see." He cynically smiled and turned around, exiting the restaurant.

He lifted his head and stared at the sky for a few seconds. "He must hate me now." He cackled to himself and strolled off toward his bike to leave.

——

[Early morning the next day]

Draven plopped into bed, ready to go to sleep. He glanced at Avelina, who was at the table, deeply immersed in the book she was reading.

"Avelina..."

"Mhm?" Avelina answered as she flipped to the next page.

Draven furrowed his brows at her. "Do you want to sleep with me today?"

"Hmm? No." Avelina shook her head. She was not even sparing him a glance while answering his questions.

Draven’s frown deepened.

"Are you sure?"

Avelina nodded. "Mhm Hm."

Draven’s expression completely darkened. "What are you even reading?" He abruptly asked, his voice tinged with annoyance. She would usually sleep with him every morning, even after her nightly sleep, due to boredom, but today was different, and he did not like it.

He had gotten so used to cuddling her to sleep that it felt...empty and lonely to suddenly sleep alone.

Avelina did not respond but continued to read.

Draven took a deep breath and got up from the bed. He walked over to her and glimpsed at what she was reading with a tilted head.

"Is this a new read?" he asked.

As though Avelina had no idea he was standing behind her, she flinched, startled. "Draven!" She looked at him.

"What?" Draven was confused.

Avelina exhaled to calm her suddenly speedy heartbeat.

"Aren’t you sleeping anymore?" she inquired.

Draven scratched his head and responded with an unsure look on his face, "Well, I am."

"Then...why are you standing behind me?" Avelina further probed.

"Because..." Draven rubbed his temple, trying to figure out a way to phrase his word properly.

Avelina raised her brow at him, but before she could hear his response, a familiar scream resounded through the entire mansion, waking everyone up.

Draven immediately turned his head towards the door at the same time she did, and they glanced at each other.

"Isn’t that Natasha’s voice?" Avelina queried.

Draven gave a nod. "It is."

"What is going on?" Avelina crinkled her brows. "Do you think it is..." she glanced at Draven with raised eyebrows.

Draven smiled.

"I don’t think it is, Avelina, but I know it is."

Avelina covered her mouth. "I thought it would take a bit longer."

"It looks like Lucien made an upgrade." Draven chuckled softly and moved over to the bed to lie down.

Avelina supported her chin with a folded fist and smiled at Draven.

"Doesn’t this mean that the second stage of your plan is done?"

"It does," Draven confirmed. "Now we wait for the third stage to begin."

Avelina laughed softly, turning her attention to the book in her hand. "This will be fun," she said.

...

Ryan rushed from his room to Natasha’s room. Without bothering to knock, he pushed the door open and stepped inside to meet Natasha, seated at the mirror in her sleeping dress. She was clutching onto her face with her trembling hands.

"Natasha..." His voice was tinged with confusion.

Natasha immediately turned her head to look at him, and at the sight of her face, Ryan widened his eyes.

"It’s happening again, Ryan!" She burst into tears.

Ryan immediately hurried towards her, pulling her into his arms.

"Why? I thought it was treated last year," he inquired. Indeed, Natasha had once experienced a rash on her face in the past year, and this was due to her touching a plant she wasn’t supposed to have touched.

Why was the same thing happening again? He was sure that Natasha had not touched any of it. I mean, she would not go to something harmful to her twice.

Natasha shook her head. "I-I don’t know. I don’t know Ryan. I came out of the bath and saw this." Her tears dropped onto Ryan’s clothing.